A Million Reasons
by Phoebe Halliwell
Summary: Harry is about to gradaute from Hogwarts but since the final battle he feels as if he has no meaning to his life. However a potions accident and a one night stand give something for Harry to live for. Book 6 and 7 didn't happen. MPREG! SLASH! DRARRY!
1. Chapter 1

A Million Reasons

Chapter One

When looking for a partner in life you always tend to go for the one person who is your total opposite, the one person that there is probably a million reasons or more that you shouldn't be friends let alone anything more. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and knew that this was true for them, they couldn't have been more wrong for each other which was what made them so right together. By all accounts it didn't make any sense.

However it did explain a definite attraction that he felt to a certain Slytherin who he could never seem to get out of his head. Of course Harry Potter, boy-who-lived had said nothing to anyone about his feelings, and definitely not to the certain Slytherin teenager. Harry had thought things through very rationally of course and had come to the conclusion that if he couldn't get Draco Malfoy out of his head then may, just maybe, he was supposed to be there.

Harry just couldn't understand it, now that the war was well and truly over and his friends and those that he cared about were happy and safe Harry just had no purpose to his life anymore, his path in life had been so certain for his seven years at Hogwarts but now that he was finally free from danger and the Dark Lord Voldemort, Harry didn't know what to do with his life.

He had an unrequited love for someone he could never ever tell and tomorrow he would be graduating from Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. All that matter to Harry was that Ron and Hermione were happy and they were, what did matter that he had no purpose to his life anymore.

He had ensured that as soon as he left Hogwarts that he had a home all to himself and because he didn't want to lose the close bond that he had with Ron and Hermione he had also purchased the house next door to his as well for them to live in. He was doing to give it to them as a graduation/wedding gift, he knew that Ron was due to propose to Hermione on graduation day.

Even though everyone else was viewing it as one of the happiest days of their lives Harry just couldn't bring himself to see leaving Hogwarts a good thing. This had been the first place that he had ever felt that he was welcome, this had been the first place that he had ever had friends that had cared about him. He had also had the scariest experiences here, he had killed for the first time at the age of eleven within these walls, that was terrifying to Harry.

On the morning of their graduation all of the seventh years gathered in the great hall for breakfast, Harry may have been there in body but his mind had wandered, Ron and Hermione were holding hands beside him and they didn't notice his blank stare and the fact that he didn't touch his food at all. They were just too wrapped up in the happiness of being with each other, it made Harry want to have that with Draco.

He cast a glance over to the Slytherin table, it was a lot emptier than it should have been on such a day, the teenagers that should have been sitting there had been dragged into an early grave because Tom Riddle had wanted to bring as many people down with him as he possibly could. However the person that was sitting there looking just as sullen and depressed as Harry was feeling was Draco Malfoy.

When Draco got up to leave, having had enough, Harry decided that it was time that they deal with the issues that they had between them, after all, they would never see each other again after tonight and if Harry couldn't have Draco in the way that he wanted then he would make do with making peace with him, which was really all he could hope for.

Ron and Hermione barely even noticed that he was leaving, he muttered something about seeing them later and he left. Draco had already got a good head start on him and Harry just had to assume that he was heading back to the Slytherin common room.

Harry hurried across the entrance hall, trying to catch up with Draco but in his haste Harry collided with Severus Snape who had been coming up from the dungeons and had a box full of various potions in his arms, presumably for the hospital wing, as they collided they both fell to the floor, the box of potions smashed and some of them mingled together on the stone floor. To brace himself as he fell Harry put his hand out and it handed in a puddle of potion.

"I'm so sorry Professor!" Harry spluttered as he got up from the floor, wiping his potion coloured hand over his white school shirt. The oddly coloured potion stained the material before either being absorbed by the shirt or turning as white as the shirt, which Harry couldn't really tell. He didn't care too much for this particular shirt anyway, it was far too small for him and had become very tight on him.

"Watch where you're going Potter!" Snape snarled at Harry making him flinch as he tried to gather up what was saveable. What Harry didn't see was Severus' face pale at the sight of some of the spilled potions. "Potter!"

"I said I was sorry sir, I have to go." Harry said realising that as he wasted time Draco was getting further and further away from him and his chances of at least clearing the air were going the same way. He needed to get away from Snape and make a run for it if he was ever going to catch up with Draco.

"Potter!" Severus said again but Harry wasn't listening, he had already started for the stairs down into the dungeon and he blocked out the sound of Snape shouting out his name, demanding that he come back. Harry just assumed that the Potions Master just wanted him to clean the mess up and that was something he just didn't have time for.

He picked up pace, breaking out into a run. As he rounded a corner he collided straight into the teenager that he was looking for. It was certainly his day for literally bumping into people, not that he minded bumping into Draco. The Slytherin had stopped outside a portrait that Harry assumed was the entrance to his common room and dormitories.

Draco looked down at Harry who had once again ended up on the floor, he looked suitably embarrassed at the incident and began to pick himself up off the floor and was completely surprised when Draco offered his hand out to help him, shocked, Harry accepted the help and he was pulled back onto his feet.

"Want to tell me why you're charging round the dungeons like you have a blast ended skrewt chasing you?" Draco asked raising an amused eyebrow at the out of breath Harry.

"I was trying to catch up with you, I wanted to talk to you." Harry said gasping for breath. Draco now looked even more amused at the whole situation.

"And why did you want to talk to me Potter? Crashing into me and almost knocking me to the floor was certainly an interesting way to grab my attention." He said with his usual sneer, Harry had a sneaking suspicion that this wasn't going to go well.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry there has always been so much tension between us, I wanted to make peace with you before we graduated." Harry said, he was babbling a little now, he was actually having a civil conversation with Draco Malfoy. The blonde Slytherin certainly was as handsome as he seemed up close, Harry licked his lips nervously and Draco watched the process with interest.

"You wanted to make peace with me?" Draco asked, he was still slightly amused by the whole situation but the sneer had gone and it had been replaced by a genuine smile, Harry had never seen him smile before and in an instant he decided that he liked it. "Are you sure that is all you wanted to make with me?"

Harry's head snapped up to meet the silvery eyes of Draco Malfoy who was staring at him intently. Harry opened his mouth to say something but found that he couldn't find the words and he quickly closed it again, instead he just gaped at the blonde who had gathered from Harry's reaction that he was right on the mark with his guess. Draco closed the gap between them and kissed the surprised Gryffindor who really hadn't seen the day going this way.

"What …?" Harry tried to ask but Draco put a hand across his mouth and pushed him against the cold stone wall.

"Don't say anything … just enjoy this, it won't happen again." Draco said and Harry understood, this was the perfect way to make peace and say goodbye. It may have seemed a strange way to settle the rivalry between them but for Harry and Draco it made perfect sense.

Their kisses were heated and passionate, Draco rubbing himself against Harry's crotch that was hardening with each kiss, suddenly, much to the displeasure of the Gryffindor, Draco pulled back.

"Come" He said, "A corridor isn't good enough" He said and he opened the portrait to the Slytherin common room and dragged Harry inside. It was fortunate that it was empty of people because the other Slytherin's might have had something to say about Harry Potter being in their common room.

Draco led Harry all the way into his bedroom and closed the door. He magically locked it so no one would be able to disturb them. Draco then began to undo the buttons to the Gryffindor's shirt before pushing him on to the bed and instructing him to remove the remainder of his clothing.

Draco too, with a teasing slowness to his movements, began to disrobe. Harry's eyes were on the Slytherin the whole time, his eyes fixing on each new bit of skin that was revealed to him.

Harry had never done anything remotely like this before, of course he had fantasised what it would be like doing this with a guy and the guy in his fantasies had always been Draco but never had he thought that it would ever actually happen.

Draco moved on to the bed, positioning himself on top of Harry right away, their lips met and Harry was once again in heaven. Harry hadn't felt this alive since before the final battled, this feeling he couldn't compare to anything that he had ever felt before. There was something about kissing Draco, being together in bed, there was just something about it that meant so much more than kissing Cho had or even Ginny.

His hands roamed over Draco's body of pale perfection with experimental shyness, when he got the reactions that he wanted from Draco he immediately felt so much more confident and kept on doing what he was. As Draco was about to enter him Harry finally realised why it was that it felt so different than anything that he ever experienced before, no one he had kissed had ever been male for a start and secondly it had never felt this right before.

If the few hours that he spent with Draco gave Harry nothing else then it gave him the assurance that he was indeed gay, he wasn't even bisexual, he was certain of that, no girl had ever made him feel if he were on fire before.

Every time Draco touched him he wanted even more, he had a desperation, a need that only Draco could satisfy. With each thrust that Draco delivered Harry arched up to meet him. It was so surreal to Harry, as he gasped for breath he looked into Draco's eyes and saw that they were a whirlwind of lust. His fingernails dug into the pale and perfect skin on Draco's back leaving little impressions there.

Harry came first followed closely by Draco who came inside of the Gryffindor who was practically in heaven from what they had just done. The Slytherin collapsed breathless besides Harry but he said nothing. He knew that it was over, there wouldn't be any repeat performances, whatever they had together was over now, it was over before it had even begun.

Harry did feel a little strange but he put it down to being with Draco and him being the first guy that he had ever gone further than kissing with. Harry shifted himself so that he was proper up and looking at Draco as he regained himself. Sweat had gathered on his face and his blonde hair was lying limp and mingling with the sweat.

"You surprise me Potter." Draco finally managed to say smiling.

"Why's that?" Harry asked curiously with a huge smile on his face.

"I never thought you'd be the one night stand kinda guy, also I would have thought you would have been a ladies man." Draco said sitting up and grabbing his wand and performing a cleaning spell to remove Harry's come from him.

"I guess there's a lot we don't know about each other." Harry said also getting up and fumbling for his underwear along with the rest of his clothes, he could read from Draco's body language that it was time for him to go.

Harry had known that this was just the once, a sign that there was now peace between them, this had been the perfect way to say goodbye but it was over now, done with, Harry refused to let his obsession with Draco dominate him, he knew that they could never be together, it wasn't logical. He couldn't even think of what to say to the blonde anymore.

Before now no matter what his feelings had been towards him it had been automatic to insult him and his family, insult the fact that they were deatheater's. It wasn't as if he could do that anymore, not after what they had just done together, Harry had drawn a complete blank and knew that even though he wanted so much more from Draco Malfoy he knew he would get nothing else, he doubted he'd ever see the sexy blonde again.

Right before he left Harry turned to look at the Slytherin that had been the first man to enter him and he said: "Have a nice life … Draco." He had hesitated but calling him by his first name was so easy, so natural, he regretted not using it sooner. Draco said nothing in return so Harry just walked away with regret hanging over him.


	2. Chapter 2

A Million Reasons

Chapter Two

Harry was just about to walk up the stairs to the entrance hall and back up to Gryffindor common room when Snape rounded the corner and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him into his class room before Harry's brain could even process what had happened.

"Wha…" Harry said as Severus closed the door and scowled, suddenly Harry remembered the incident at the top of the stairs when they had collided during Harry's frantic chase of Draco. He opened his mouth to apologise again but he then spotted Madame Pomfrey sitting at one of the desks and he quickly shut his mouth feeling very confused.

"What have you been doing Potter?" Severus demanded, Harry didn't know if he could tell the Professor exactly what he had been doing down in the dungeons for such a long period of time. "Why were you down here?" He demanded again.

"I wanted to make peace with Draco before we left," Harry said trying to sound innocent while still feeling very confused as to why he was being interrogated in such a way. "Why, what's this about?"

"When you knocked into me earlier did any of the spilt potion touch you?" Snape demanded more fiercely while completely ignoring the fact that Harry had asked a question, apparently Severus wasn't in the mood to answer questions.

"Yes, I wiped it on my shirt, though it's vanished now." Harry said, he didn't understand what this was about but he knew that the best thing to do was just to humour Snape and just answer his questions because the Potions Master was already angry and Harry didn't want him to get more so. He was glad that there was someone else there as it meant that Snape couldn't do anything to him.

"That it is because it was absorbed into your skin you imbecile!" Severus snapped at him looking more angry than Harry had ever seen him and Harry had seen more than his fair share of angry Snape in his years at Hogwarts.

"Severus, it is not Harry's fault, you must calm yourself." Madame Pomfrey said before turning her attention onto Harry, "Since the potion was spilt on you have you had sex with anyone dear?" She asked calmly and with such a straight face that Harry was even more confused.

At the mention of sex he blushed bright red, not willing to discuss his personal life in front of these two teachers, he didn't think that it was any of their business if he had had sex or not, it had only been an hour and a half since he had had the potion spilt on him. Harry nodded mutely in answer to the question she had asked, if Snape had asked him he would have lied and said that he hadn't but Madame Pomfrey had done nothing but be nice to him.

"Who with dear?" She asked just as calmly but Harry had had enough of answering questions, he wanted to know what this was all about and why it was that he was being interrogated about his sex life of all things, by all accounts it did not make sense.

"What does that matter?" Harry asked, "Why are you asking me all of these questions, I mean I have done anything wrong right, you're not giving me detention or anything?" Harry directed the last question to Severus who scowled in response making it perfectly clear that he wasn't objecting to the idea.

"It matters dear because when you bumped into Severus he was carrying some potions that I had asked him to brew for my brother who is trying to conceive a child with his husband. It required two separate potions mixing together and for it then to be absorbed into the skin. Now the potion is most powerful the fresher it is and also if the potion is absorbed across the stomach." Poppy explained and Harry was completely lost for words.

"The potions were freshly brewed and they came into contact with your skin within seconds of them mixing." Severus supplied rather unhelpfully and Harry sank into a nearby chair and tried to fully comprehend what he was being told. "And then you wiped them onto the front of your shirt I'm guessing." Harry nodded mutely and Severus looked even grimmer than he had before and that was something that Harry hadn't thought was possible.

"What exactly are you trying to tell me because I'm a guy and guys cannot get pregnant!?" Harry asked, even though he had gathered what all of this meant, his brain just didn't seem willing to accept the possibility, he needed to hear that it wasn't possible, he needed to be told that men could not get pregnant!

Severus sighed an irritable sigh, probably at the annoyance of Harry Potter. "No, men cannot get pregnant in the muggle world, they can only get pregnant in the wizarding world with magical aid." Snape tried to explain.

"But I can't carry a baby … there isn't anywhere for it to come out!" Harry said, he was saying the first thing that came into his mind that made any sense at all. However he was clearly getting on Snape's last nerve.

"The potion that was spilled onto you effectively creates a womb made entirely out of your magic, you are correct that there is no way on your body for the baby to come into this world, which is why when the child is ready it will be delivered by what muggles call a caesarean." Poppy explained calmly to the now hyperventilating Harry who was having a hard time dealing with everything that was being piled on top of him.

"But I'm not pregnant right?" He said, "There is no way that I'm pregnant!"

"We would have to do some tests to be sure of course but the likely hood is that you are, Severus had only just finished brewing those potions when they came in contact with you and you had sex within the hour so it would be extremely unlikely if you're not." Poppy said moving so she could try to help Harry breath as he was completely panicking.

"Now who is it that you can sex with?" Severus asked again and he became enraged when Harry shook his head.

"No, I don't want him to know, it was only once, we aren't dating, he just wanted to say goodbye, we won't ever see each other after today." Harry said in between trying to take deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Then you are a fool." Severus said.

"But we must respect his wishes Severus." Poppy said as she rubbed soothing circles on Harry's back, "I think that we need to summon the headmaster and take Harry up to the hospital wing so that I can do some tests to see if he is pregnant." She said and Severus nodded to show that he agreed with this logical decision.

"I will fetch Albus, if possible I think that we should minimise the attention that escorting Potter up to the hospital wing will attract, use the fireplace in my chambers to floo the two of you up there."

"Good idea Severus, come along now Harry, we need to get to you to the hospital wing so we can confirm whether or not you are indeed pregnant, if you are then we need to discuss options with you."

"Options?" Harry asked still in shock as Poppy helped him up out of the chair he had sunk into and towards the door that Severus had just left out of. Harry assumed that he had gone to fetch Dumbledore, in fact Harry was surprised that the headmaster wasn't already here.

"Yes Harry, you do have options, after all you are only seventeen." She said as they hurried along the empty passage ways towards, Harry assumed, Severus' chambers and sure enough that was where they ended up.

"I don't feel seventeen." Harry admitted as Poppy spoke the password (Lily) and they entered. Harry was too befuddled to think too closely about Severus' choice of password for his private rooms.

"Yours has been a hard life hasn't it dear" Poppy said kindly as she located Severus' store of floo powder that he kept on his mantel piece along with an assortment of other objects. Harry didn't really take much notice of his surroundings, on any other day he would have been fascinated to look round the Potion Masters rooms but he was in too much shock to really take much in of anything.

Harry could think of nothing more to say to the Medi-witch so he said nothing and allowed himself to be led to the fireplace and together they floo-ed up to the hospital wing. There was no one else there and at once Harry was sat down on a bed and Poppy erected a curtain all the way around him so no one else would know that he was there.

If he had been in his right mind it would have struck Harry that they were all trying to keep this a very closely guarded secret. He didn't say a word until Severus returned explaining that Dumbledore would arrive as soon as he was done with the Graduation. At this Harry snapped back into reality.

"I'm missing my own graduation!!" He said in a complete panic and tried to get up and out of bed but both Poppy and Severus managed to get him back onto the bed and calm him down.

"I'm sorry Harry but we have to find out if you're pregnant or not, it is a big problem if you are." Poppy said trying to subdue Harry as best she could with the help of Severus who was enjoying to experience of being extremely forceful with the teenager.

"But I'm missing my graduation." Harry protested again but he saw now that his attempts were futile. There wasn't any chance that they were going to let him leave, Harry slumped back onto the bed and began to cry. It didn't seem that long ago since he was in Draco's arms, being caressed and kissed by him, now he was lying in the hospital wing, missing his own graduation and feeling utterly depressed about the whole situation.

Harry knew that he couldn't tell Draco about this. They weren't boyfriends, they weren't even friends. He knew that he would probably regret making this decision however he knew that Draco would feel obligated to stay with him if he knew and as much as Harry wanted that he didn't want Draco to be with him for all the wrong reasons. If they were together then he wanted it to be because they loved each other not because of some potion accident and a one morning stand.

Severus and Poppy released him as soon as they were sure that he wouldn't try to get down to the great hall again. Neither of them could comprehend what the young teenager was going through. Severus couldn't understand why it was always Harry blood Potter that seemed to get all the bad luck. If it hadn't have been those circumstances then this would never have happened. The potions master couldn't help but think that if he had just been running a little late then he would have missed Harry running down into the dungeons but this was how it had been meant to turn out.

Poppy set to work preparing everything she needed for the tests that she would have to perform. She had a lingering feeling of guilt, she could have brewed the potion herself instead of asking Severus to do it, she had just been paranoid that she would do something wrong, she just wanted her brother happy and now this had happened, she couldn't help but feel slightly responsible for what was happening to Harry now, the boy never seemed to get a break.

Harry just couldn't believe that he was here again, sitting in the hospital wing in the same bed that he always ended up in. He thought that they should mount a plaque on the wall in honour of him.

He checked around to see if Poppy or Severus were watching him, they weren't they had retreated to the other side of the hospital wing and were having a conversation. Harry swivelled around on his bed to face the back wall and removed his wand from his robe pocket.

He began muttering incantations onto the wall and before Poppy or Severus had realised what he was doing Harry had managed to conjure up a plaque and inscribe on it that this was '_the bed of Harry J. Potter,_' In beautiful italic scrawl. Poppy looked disapproving and Severus just looked amused, Harry just shrugged at their looks, he didn't care what they said, this had been his bed since he had been hospitalized in his first year after his battle with Quirrell/Voldemort.


	3. Chapter 3

A Million Reasons

Chapter three

Albus Dumbledore appeared not an hour after Harry had been brought into the hospital wing. He came right to Harry's bed where he was sitting up looking extremely bored and irritable. Poppy had already done every test that she could think of in the time that they had been waiting for the headmaster to arrive but no one had been told anything.

Dumbledore drew a chair in mid-air and one appeared for him to sit on, Poppy, who had seen him enter, bustled over, Severus swept over to join them also.

"Now, why is it that Harry has had to miss his graduation and has been confined to the hospital wing? He looks in perfect health to me." Dumbledore said as he settled himself down and got comfortable, even pulling out a white paper bag filled with lemon drops.

"There was an accident Headmaster." Severus began, "I was bring the potions that Poppy had requested of me up to the hospital wing when Potter collided with me, the potions spilt and mixed, it was absorbed into his stomach but he ran off before I could stop him." Snape explained giving Albus the abridged version of the story. "When I finally caught up with him Potter had already had sex."

Dumbledore nodded in understanding and motioned with one hand that they should go on. It was now Poppy's turn to speak. "We brought him straight up to the hospital wing and I proceeded with doing the relevant tests to see if the potion had worked and if it hadn't to see if something else had happened."

"And what were the results of these tests Poppy?" Dumbledore asked and Harry nodded eagerly, he wanted to know what was going on inside of his own body. He didn't like it one bit that these people had a hold over him like this, it was a pretty major thing to be keeping a secret.

"I am afraid that the test results have shown that Harry is indeed pregnant, there isn't anyway that we can reverse it and because the potion was so fresh and the sex so soon after the potion came into contact with his abdomen it might be difficult to terminate the pregnancy." Poppy said.

"But I don't want to terminate it!" Harry said at once, horrified that the suggestion had been made that he might want to get rid of his child, even if it was born with the other father not knowing that it existed and while he wasn't married.

"I might have said that it should be an option that you should consider if it hadn't been very likely that it would have been successful, after all it isn't like you planned on this Harry, however I do not think that we have much of an option in the matter." Dumbledore said, he was obviously thinking about this very carefully. "Who is the other father?"

Harry shook his head as the headmaster asked the question that Poppy and Severus had been dying to know the answer to as well, however Harry still was not willing to be forthcoming with the answer, he didn't want Draco to be involved in this in the slightest. He tried not to meet the headmasters twinkling blue eyes afraid that he would creep into his mind.

"If it helps headmaster Albus, Potter told me that he was on his way to see Draco Malfoy when he collided with me, I was assuming that he was the one that Potter had sex with after the potion was absorbed." Severus said with a malicious glint in his eye that made Harry resent him all the more.

"Yeah right!" Harry scoffed, he couldn't have them figure it out and he was a very convincing liar by this point in his life. "I went to clear the air with Malfoy, I did that and then went to meet this guy that I sometimes hook up with, I won't tell you who it is. We decided not to see each other anymore after the graduation." Harry said and it seemed that even though no one seemed to entirely believe him they weren't exactly sure that he was lying to them either.

"Either way Harry I think that the other father deserves to know that he is responsible for this." Dumbledore said trying to be rational about the whole situation but Harry wasn't fooled by his act, he just wanted to know who the other father was and that was something that Harry just wasn't going to tell any of them.

"No he doesn't, it was a mutual decision not to see each other again and besides it isn't as if I can't support a child on my own, I have enough money and about fifty job offers. I'm sure I can manage without involving my partner." Harry said keeping very calm about the whole thing, which surprised him. He had started off in a complete state of shock but he was finally realising that now his life didn't have to be meaningless, he had slept with Draco and he had had to come to terms with the fact that that was never going to amount to anything while also having to accept that he was going to have Draco's child.

"There is also one other thing that I think that Harry should know about this pregnancy, I don't know if it will sway his decision to involve the other father or not but it is something that he must know." Poppy said and she didn't look as if she wanted to be the one to give this news as she wasn't sure how everyone was going to react when she told them. Dumbledore motioned that she should just get it over with, so she took a deep breath and spoke. "Harry is not only pregnant with one child, he is pregnant with twins."

Everyone gapped at her and then turned to stare at Harry who had gone wide eyed in surprise. Okay, so having two babies wasn't exactly ideal when you were bound to become a single parent but again it was something that he was going to have to cope with, he was still determined that he wouldn't involve Draco in this whatsoever.

"She's right it doesn't change my mind about whether or not to involve the father, I'm sorry headmaster but we swore that we would have nothing more to do with each other after this day. Now if you wouldn't mind I'd like to go and find my friends, I want to tell them the news." Harry said rather decisively, he sat up with the intention of leaving however Dumbledore put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"You must realise Harry that a male pregnancy is something that must be planned, even if we release the accident story to the Prophet I do not think that anyone would believe you, they would challenge you on your sexuality." Dumbledore said and Harry just looked as if he couldn't give a shit.

"I'm sorry headmaster but I really couldn't care, I'm not going to tell the Prophet, only Ron and Hermione. They're the only people I'm going to have contact with now that we've graduated so I guess that they will have to know but other than that I want you all sworn to secrecy." Harry said and then he did the most extreme thing that he could do. "In fact I want you all to make the unbreakable vow!"

All three looked absolutely astonished at this news but mutely they nodded in agreement, there wasn't any reason why they should refuse this, after all if they weren't going to tell they needn't have feared taking such an extreme action.

Harry seemed satisfied that they would keep there word once he had their agreement to do the vow but Harry still held them to it and made them go through with it, each of them promising not to let out the secret but if they did then they would die, extreme but had been anything less then Harry wouldn't have been happy that they would keep it and not just suffer the consequences.

"Can I go now?" Harry asked, he saw no other reason that he had to stay in the hospital wing, he had far too much to do before the Hogwarts express left this evening with all of them.

"Of course" Dumbledore said, "Poppy said to remind you that you should get a check up from a reliable medi-witch or wizard every two to three weeks if it is possible. May I suggest that since Poppy has already preformed the unbreakable vow for you, perhaps you should trust her with this job as I am sure that you can trust her."

"I'll remember that and I'm sure that I will keep in touch anyway." Harry said as he got up and no one tried to stop him from doing so.

Dumbledore, Severus and Poppy watched him leave, all of them marvelling at how grown up the boy had become. He may only have been seventeen years old but he was wise beyond his years. He had done many things that he ought not to have done and he had murdered too many people to even count and now it seemed that he was going to become a father to not one but two children, the thought of that alone was astounding. Harry Potter could never have a boring life.

Harry went straight to the Gryffindor common room where all of the seventh years were packing up all of their belongings and saying goodbye to each other and Gryffindor tower. They would soon be leaving the castle forever and it was a tearful occasion for all.

Harry located Ron and Hermione in the seventh year boys dormitory. Harry was unsurprised to learn that Hermione was already packed and ready to go so she was helping Ron to gather his things together. She was playfully teasing him that he would lose his head if it wasn't for her and of course Harry completely agreed with that sentiment. No one else was in the dormitory so Harry felt free to talk to his two best friends, he shut the door and produced a number of spells to reduce the likely hood that anyone would eavesdrop on the conversation.

Immediately both Ron and Hermione were curious about why Harry had been missing from the Graduation, everyone had been so excited about it and he didn't quite understand why it was that he hadn't been there. Harry sat on Ron's bed along with his two best friends and he set about explaining what had happened.

He told them that he had aimed to make peace with Draco because it seemed that after all their years of fighting that they couldn't just be civil to each other now that they were leaving. Ron and Hermione stayed silent as they listened to Harry's explanation.

He went on to explain the collision with Snape on the stairs with the potions and then shyly went into the part where he and Draco had slept together and he couldn't even remember how that had come about, it was of course the most unlikely thing that they could have done together as infamous enemies, upholding the Gryffindor and Slytherin feud and all.

Ron and Hermione, to Harry's relief, didn't seem so shocked about the fact that the two of them had had sex, of course they had known that he was gay but he had never told them his fascination with Draco Malfoy but they took it in their stride and accepted it and allowed Harry to continue with the story.

He told them then about how Snape and Poppy had ambushed him and then all about his trip to the hospital wing, finally he got round to the small detail of him being pregnant with twins and the fact that Draco, the father, did not know and he did not want them to know, in fact they were the only other two people that knew and he wanted it to be kept that way.

Hermione had at once become excited about the prospect of becoming an aunt and Ron and given him a smile and a hug but the word congratulations didn't pass their lips once however Harry wasn't surprised, it wasn't exactly something expected or even something to celebrate.

Hermione then declared that she must go and research this particular potion at once and neither Ron nor Harry thought twice about her running off to the library to do some research, after all it was second nature for the frizzy haired girl to run off to the library, neither of them knew what she would do when she couldn't do that.

However what Ron and Harry didn't know was that she was really planning on tracking down Draco Malfoy and letting him know what Harry was hiding from him. She didn't think that it was very fair on him that he didn't know what had happened. She knew that the likelihood was that he wouldn't care either way but she had to tell him because she knew that Harry never would.

She couldn't leave Harry and the twins to live life without him knowing that they were in the world. She knew that Draco could be a heartless bastard a the best of times but that didn't mean that he didn't have the right to know that he was going to father children in nine months or so. So she set about making her way to the Slytherin common room hoping that she could find some Slytherin to either let her inside or fetch Draco Malfoy out so that she could have a word with him.

Harry and Ron remained in Gryffindor tower, completely oblivious to her plan. Harry had forced Severus, Poppy and Albus to make an unbreakable vow because he hadn't thought that he would be able to trust them with something as major as this, especially with the temptation to go to the Prophet. After all it had been the first thing out of Dumbledore's mouth. However he had thought that he could have trusted his two best friends to keep such a huge secret.

He hadn't realised that Hermione and her morals would get in the way of that, he hadn't even considered forcing them to make the unbreakable vow. He knew that if he had then they would have seen it as an insult to the trust in their friendship and Harry didn't want to cause any rifts in their friendship group.


	4. Chapter 4

A Million Reasons

Chapter four

Hermione had to linger outside of the entrance to the Slytherin common room until another Slytherin chose to enter or exit. Finally Pansy Parkinson wanted to go in and she said that she'd go and fetch Draco and she said it with distaste.

Hermione was forced to wait outside of the Slytherin common room, she couldn't believe how embarrassing it was to be hanging around outside the Slytherin common room. However eventually Draco appeared, his hair was slightly mused as if he had been lying down or sleeping and he looked a little annoyed at being disturbed.

"What do you want Granger?" Draco asked, apparently the fact that he and Harry were being civil to one another didn't stretch to each others friends, Hermione however was used to his tone and did not flinch at the sound of it. She had become accustomed to it over the years that they had been at school together.

"I need to talk to you about Harry." At this Hermione saw a licker of something in Draco's eyes but before she could identify it, it was gone. Though she knew that there had been something there.

"What about him?" Draco asked trying to sound as if he couldn't care less but Hermione knew better. It wasn't often that she could read people but Draco was obviously struggling with some inner turmoil right now.

"He's pregnant!" She said bluntly, "He was involved in a potion accident right before you slept together and now he's pregnant." She said hurriedly trying to get it all out before Draco could protest to what she was saying.

"You can't be serious!" Draco said completely taken aback by the news that Hermione had bestowed upon him and he wasn't sure what he wanted to do with this information now that he knew.

"I know that you probably won't give a damn about Harry and the twins that he's carrying that are half yours but I think that you deserve to know and I know that Harry would never have told you. He said that it was a one time thing and that it would never happen again. I believe that but now you know that that one time thing has changed Harry's life forever. He's going to keep the children Draco." She said trying to explain to him more fully and help it settle into his mind with a little more ease.

"But … it can't be … he can't be … I didn't think that this would ever happen I mean, it was only a one time thing, I'm going to Ireland tomorrow to continue my studies. There isn't anyway that I can stay here." Draco said, he wasn't really talking to Hermione, he was more just summing things up in his mind and thinking things through but she listened intently to what he was saying anyway.

"Draco, I know that this is a huge shock and I'm only sorry that you had to hear it from me rather than from Harry and I don't know if you're going to do something about it or not but please, at least talk to Harry, tell him that you know. Just don't let him know that it was me that told you." She said warningly, she waited patiently for him to answer, it took him a few seconds but finally he did.

"I'm not sure whether talking to Harry is going to help matters but I will, I mean I can't leave without letting him know that I know. I'd offer financial support all the way but I know that he is by far wealthy enough that he would be offended at the thought."

"Draco, not everything is about money. Harry wasn't going to tell you which says that he can and he would have managed without you. The problem is that I know full well that he likes you, he may not have told us but I figured it out. He likes you so much that he would let you go off to do whatever it is that you're going to do because that would be what made you happiest. He didn't want you to feel responsible for this mistake so before you go and talk to him think very carefully about what you are going to say." She warned him.

"Where is he now?" He asked because he knew that if he didn't go and talk to him now then he probably wouldn't get the chance again, they only had a couple of hours before they would be leave Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry for good.

"He's in Gryffindor tower with Ron, I'll take you there and let you in." She said, "Are you willing to come with me?" She had to be sure but this seemed to be the only way.

"I don't think that I have a choice, if I don't do this now then I won't ever have a chance to, we're leaving soon." He said and he knew that if he had been given more time to think about what he was doing he would have ignored everything that Hermione had told him and he would have walked away without a second thought, after all it wasn't his responsibility that this mistake had happened. However in that split second that he had to make his decision he had decided that this was the right thing for him to do.

Harry and Ron in this time that it had taken Hermione to tell Draco everything had finished packing together all of their belongings and were checking and double checking every nook and cranny in the dormitory to make sure that they had absolutely everything.

They had been about to cart their trunks down to the common room so that the house elves could clean the rooms when there was a sharp knock on the dormitory door. Hermione stuck her head round the door and said: "Um, there is kinda someone here to see you." She said looking a little sheepish as she pushed the door open a little more and stepping into the room, it was then that Harry spotted someone right behind her, a blonde, handsome someone and Harry was absolutely petrified.

"What … Hermione!" Harry spluttered indignantly. "Why?" He managed to ask and she had the decency to look ashamed at what she had done and Harry was enraged by the fact that she had gone behind his back and done this.

"He deserved to know Harry, I couldn't live with myself if I hadn't told him." She said, Harry still couldn't quite believe what it was that she was saying but be gritted his teeth and simply glared at her, there wasn't any way that he could be happy with her at this point, not after she had betrayed him. Especially after all the trouble that he had gone through with Severus, Poppy and Albus to ensure that nothing was said to anyone. He was regretting not thinking that his best friends might betray his confidence.

"Seeing as I don't seem to have a choice in the matter Hermione can you and Ron go and inform Dumbledore, Snape and Pomfrey that Draco is the other father." Harry said sitting back down on the bed as Draco shuffled into the room looking nervous.

Hermione and Ron took the hint and left the room, closing the door behind them. Once again Harry took the precaution of warding the door with privacy and locking spells. Even though it seemed pretty pointless to try to keep the knowledge secret seeing as everyone seemed to be finding out anyway.

"So I guess that we need to talk." Harry said after a moment of silence when no one had really known what to say to one another which had made the room very tense and the atmosphere awkward. Harry couldn't help but think that the last time that they had come face to face they had ended up sleeping with each other which is exactly how he had ended up in this predicament in the first place.

"I guess that we do." Draco said, he was still standing very close to the door as if he might bolt at any second. Harry wouldn't have put it past him to do something like that as he was known for being a bit of a coward however he held his ground and stayed put which Harry admired greatly.

"Come and sit next to me" Harry said and Draco edged over to the bed and sat down next to the Gryffindor, he was fidgeting which meant that he was extremely nervous, Harry had never noticed this trait of his before and he thought that it wad cute.

"Granger said that you weren't going to tell me." Draco said venturing into unknown water with this statement but it was a good enough thing to start the conversation as anything else that he cold have said.

"I didn't think that you would care. Can you honestly say that you're going to drop all of your plans, everything that you want to do and come and live with us? Are you going to settle with a average job and an average home just because after one time together I get pregnant? I don't think so Draco, nothing has changed, we're still the same as we always were."

"Except now you call me Draco."

"Which is your name!" Harry said with exasperation.

"You used to only call me Malfoy." Draco pointed out rather unhelpfully.

"We slept together, I thought that using each others surnames was a little odd, besides what does that matter?" Harry asked, "What happened, happened, there isn't anything that either of us can do to take that back."

"I realise that" Draco said, Hermione's warning to think about what he was saying sprung into his mind and he hesitated trying to think what to say. "Hermione said that you were going to keep them." He stated stupidly.

"Yes" Harry said rather stiffly, he had a horrible feeling that he knew where this was going, he was no psychic but he didn't need Trelawney to predict that they were about to have a fight about this. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, its just that I don't understand why you'd want to keep them. I mean … I can't just drop everything and commit myself to you for a start. I have things that I want to do with my life!" Draco said and he at once knew that he had said the wrong thing, Harry's face had stiffen and he had a fierce look in his eyes.

"I'm not asking you to Draco, why do you think that I wasn't going to tell you?" Harry asked pointedly. "You have every right to want a life before you start a family but I am going to keep these children. I have lived my life as much as I want to Draco, before today I had nothing left to fight for but now that I do no one is going to take that away from me."

Draco had never thought about it before and felt a trickle of shame at the thought of how Harry viewed his life. He had never seen Harry as the type of person who would have just give up but it seemed as if he saw his life as if he had nothing left until this mistake happened.

"Surely you have more than just this?" Draco asked, "What about Granger and Weasley?" Draco asked knowing that his friends would never have abandoned him, they were the inseparable Gryffindor trio.

"Ron and Hermione have their own lives, we're living close to each other when we leave but I suppose they'll get married soon, Ron said that he was going to take the opportunity to propose to her today and that part of their life I cannot be too included in. I don't have anything like that but now I have something more."

"You have probably a million and one people out there in the wizarding world dying to date you, you wouldn't exactly be short of offers, you're the boy-who-lived for goodness sake." Draco pointed out but Harry shook his head.

"How would you feel if someone only dated you for your money Draco? It's exactly the same, all of those people will only date me because of my fame and I won't have that. Besides there are still people out there that would wish me harm so I have to be careful."

"It can't be easy for you" Draco said carefully realising that Harry was on the brink of getting really angry if he said the wrong thing. "I never realised that there were still so many restraints and challenges in your life, I thought that after you defeated Him then everything would have been absolutely perfect for you."

"Far from it," Harry said rather bitterly. "I'm not asking for you to do anything and I'm not asking you to stay for me, I wouldn't want you to because I wouldn't know if you were staying for me and because you truly care or whether you stayed because you thought that you should. I want you to go and live your life, you don't even have to keep in contact but now that you know I suppose that it would be nice."

"Will you tell them?" Draco asked, "Will you tell them that I'm there father?"

"If you want me to I will." Harry said simply "It's up to you what I tell them in the end, if you want nothing to do with them ever again, which I'd predict from you, then I'll think of something else to tell them."

"That's not fair Harry" Draco said defensively, "You can't just say that you'd predict me not giving a shit about my own kids!"

"They're children Draco, I'm not giving birth to goats!"

"Whatever but you can't say that I don't care!"

"Oh come of it Draco, if you really wanted them then you'd stay, if you really wanted me then you'd stay but you don't, you want to live your life more and I get that, I'm not going to begrudge you a life if that is what you want but you have to decide what it is that you want from me." Harry said getting angry all over again. "You can either be involved in our children's life or you can be cut off from them all together."

"If I chose to be involved what will that mean?" Draco asked sceptically, he wasn't going to agree to anything without first understanding fully what it meant for him.

"It means that you will acknowledge them as Malfoy's, legitimate or not doesn't matter they will still be your children, if this ever reaches the Prophet, which it will, then they will be announced as your children. However if you chose to be cut off from them then I will never recognise you as part of their lives, you won't see them and I will say that someone else is their father."

"I want to be included in their lives Harry, whatever else you think of me I'm not completely heartless. I don't know why you all think that I am because I'm really not."

"I think that it was the whole thing where you were mean to us throughout the majority of our school years." Harry said pointedly.

"That may have been so but my family and I, we switched sides when it came to the final battle and since then I haven't said anything to you or your friends."

"Which brings back to why I thought that I would make peace with you and look where we've ended up Draco, I'm pregnant with twins that's two babies!"

"Do you have somewhere to go when you leave Hogwarts?" Draco asked, concerned that Harry would have to live in the Burrow while he was pregnant, there was one thing that he wouldn't stand for, which was his children being raised in that place. Though he wouldn't have put it quite like that to Harry who would have been offended.

"Yes, I have somewhere to go. I bought two houses next to each other, one for me and one for Ron and Hermione as a graduation present. We have a nice place to live which is big enough for the three of us. Money isn't an issue Draco, it never will be." Harry said and he was confident that what he was saying was true.

After the defeat of Voldemort the Ministry of Magic had paid him a huge amount of money for his service and Harry had gratefully accepted it even though he did feel some guilt because the families of the witches and wizards that he died had received barely anything at all. However Harry figured that after seventeen years of suffering because of what Voldemort had done to his life he deserved it.

"I want to do something for you and the twins. I have to go away but I want to do something for you before I go." Draco said and he was determined that he would do something for Harry even though he couldn't stay.

"There isn't anything that I need Draco. The twins need their other father but that isn't going to happen so there isn't anything else that you can do Draco. I'm sorry, I know you want to feel as if you've done something for me and our children."

"Where will you be staying tonight?"

"The Burrow, we'll be moving into the houses tomorrow hopefully. I've already bought a load of furniture which is in there already. I suppose I'm going to have to go and buy baby furniture now." Harry said realising that when he had bought the original furniture for his house he hadn't been expecting to be living there with two babies as well.

"Then maybe we could go shopping together tomorrow." Draco suggested hopefully, he knew that he would have to spend the entire day with Harry but a small part of him was happy that he would have that chance.

"Okay then, I need to go anyway so I don't see any harm in going together. Do you know where the Burrow is?" Harry asked.

"I have never been there but I can floo over whenever you want me to." He said willing to compromise with Harry because he knew that he wasn't Harry's favourite person currently.

"Okay, well how about you come to the burrow for mid-day and then we'll apparate to a shopping centre or something." Harry suggested and Draco nodded in agreement. "Great, we've got to leave soon and I have to go and say goodbye to my friends, I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

Draco nodded and Harry then walked down with him to the portrait that served as the entrance and exit to Gryffindor tower. Draco was unsure whether he should give Harry a kiss to the cheek as he left but he found that he just didn't have to courage. He couldn't even manage a hug so instead he mumbled a pathetic goodbye and left.

Harry watched him leave wishing that he had made some move to show that he was doing this because he wanted to and not because he thought that he had to.


	5. Chapter 5

A Million Reasons

Chapter five

Harry was waiting for Ron and Hermione when they returned, they had half an hour before they had to be in the Great Hall to go down to Hogsmead station. Harry had said goodbye to everyone that he needed to and now he just needed to deal with his two best friends. Hermione had disappointed him with how she had run straight to tell Draco everything, he had thought that he could have trusted her.

Regardless of how it turned out in the end he needed to talk to her about this, it should have been Harry's decision to tell Draco or not to tell Draco. I may have turned out okay but that really wasn't the point.

The two of them turned up hand and in hand and at once Hermione realised that they had to talk, Harry hadn't even had to say anything, just the way he had looked at her and said it all. She had the decency to look ashamed but she didn't feel anything close to that, she was glad she had done what she did because now Harry's children could have the chance to know their other father.

The three of them sat in front of the fire in their usual chairs for the last time. It was strange to think that this was going to be the last day that they were in the castle as students. It was scary that they would now have to go and live in the real world whether they wanted to or not. It had been these three Gryffindor's that had made the wizarding world what it was today and now they had to go and live in the world that they had made safe for everyone.

"Why did you do it Hermione?" Harry asked, not beating around the bush with anything. He had other things he wanted to talk to them about before they got on the train to go to the Burrow and he just wanted to know why she had done this.

"I thought that Draco had a right to know. I now it wasn't my place to tell him but I knew that you never would, you're too stubborn but I haven't told anyone else thought, I promise you that." She said and Harry had to believe her.

"Well it hasn't changed much. Draco will still be leaving, though he is coming to the Burrow tomorrow to take me shopping for baby things." Harry said and he saw that Hermione had a twinkle in her eye not unlike Dumbledore's at the thought that her actions had achieved something good, which had been all that she had hoped for. Harry ignored the annoying twinkle and pressed on. "There is also one other thing that I'd like to say. A few months ago I realised that leaving this castle would probably mean getting further away from the two of you and I decided that I didn't want that to happen so I have bought the two of you a graduation/engagement present." Harry said and he handed them a small box which held the keys to a house.

He had known that Ron had already proposed to Hermione because he had planned to do it at Graduation and she was wearing the ring that he had bought for her on her ring finger.

Ron carefully opened the box and took out the keys looking at them confused, even Hermione was a little perplexed by them as she wasn't sure what their purpose was. Harry just smiled at them and began to explain.

"Those keys are for a house," He said happily, "And I happen to have the keys for the house next door." At these words Hermione and Ron looked at him in complete disbelief.

"You bought us a house?" Ron asked, unsure about whether or not he could believe that they didn't have to live in the Burrow until they could afford somewhere else.

"Yes, I did and the move in date is tomorrow morning, you can floo over and start moving in while I go shopping and then I'll meet you there." Harry said and even though he had been hurt by Hermione's actions the smile on his best friends faces made him feel so much happier. He knew that Hermione's intentions had been good enough even though she had gone about it the wrong way. He knew that he would forgive her because after all he would be going shopping with Draco tomorrow, almost like a date, though Harry wasn't sure if it could be classified as one, he sure hoped that it turned out like one.

"So you forgive me for telling Draco?" Hermione asked cautiously, unable to believe that the hot tempered Harry wasn't kicking up more of a fuss than this.

"If it had turned out differently then I probably wouldn't have done but since he is being okay with it then I guess that I can forgive you." Harry said knowing that he probably would have forgiven her eventually anyway though he did still feel slightly betrayed by what she had done.

Harry had however decided that he wasn't going to get angry about things like that anymore, at least not while he was pregnant with the twins, Madame Pomfrey had already told him that his body was going to be put under a lot of strain and his magic was going to be very stretched as a lot of it was going to be put into creating the magical womb for his two children and helping them survive.

The trip back to the Burrow was rather uneventful but Harry was grateful for that, he didn't want anything to happen, especially not now he was in such a vulnerable state. He knew that the final battle hadn't wiped out all the Deatheater's and he knew that there were some that still wanted him dead with a passion. Those were the people that he had to watch out for.

Harry was extremely aware of that fact now, before he had learnt that he was pregnant he knew that he would be able to deal with whatever happened when it happened but now he was a lot more scared of what might happen in the future. His one sexual encounter with Draco may have given him something to keep living for but it had also made him realise that he was still in a lot of danger and so were his children if any one who wished him harm ever came after him.

Molly and Arthur Wesley welcomed them into the Burrow with open arms that night, Ginny was the only other person there with them. She was as usual very quiet and went to bed early. Ron, Hermione, Harry, Arthur and Molly remained awake long into the night talking. Ron still hadn't got over the fact that Harry had bought him and Hermione a house, which was more than what any of them had ever expected. They also talked about the fact that Harry was pregnant, of course Ron's parents were surprised but they congratulated him even though they were a little unsure about the whole thing, however he was like a son to them and they were just happy that he was happy.

When Molly and Arthur finally went to bed around one o'clock the trio steered the conversation around to Draco Malfoy. It was only the three of them that knew that he was the father and of course the Slytherin himself but that was how Harry wanted it to stay. He didn't think that he could handle the whole of the wizarding world knowing that he had a thing of the blonde Slytherin. Harry was also sure that Draco wouldn't appreciate being named as the father to the whole world.

"Do you love him Harry?" Hermione asked, "I wouldn't want to carry the child of someone I didn't love." She said.

"I don't know, he was the first guy that I ever slept with, I guess in a way I do love him, I mean it would be better if he would be sticking around but he isn't, I guess I don't want to think too closely about whether I love him." Harry admitted.

"Do you really think that he'll ever be involved with their lives?" Ron asked, "I mean he doesn't seem the fatherly type, I wouldn't have thought that you'd be hearing much from in the future."

"It's not like we know him well though, maybe he's not what we all think of him. Maybe he's someone completely different." Harry said trying to defend the teen that he had unhealthy obsession with.

"I guess we'll have to see" Hermione said doubtfully, "I mean we may not have been best friends with the boy but we have known him now for seven years and what we've seen of him isn't exactly positive."

"Then tell me to kill my babies Hermione." Harry said calmly, "Tell me that I should kill my children!"

Hermione looked suitably embarrassed at this having realised what Harry thought she had been suggesting. "I'm sorry … I didn't mean that." She said sheepishly, "It's just that I don't want you to get your hopes up with him, I don't think that he's ever going to be there for you that's all."

"Then why did you tell him Hermione? Why did you tell him when you knew that I didn't want him to know? You were the one that told him and made him come and talk to me. You can't do all that and then say that I shouldn't get my hopes up, it doesn't work that way, if you didn't think that he was trustworthy then why did you tell him?"

"I told him because I thought that he had a right to know Harry not because I thought that he would ask you to marry you and swear never to leave you and the twins. That had nothing to do with it, I told him because everyone, no matter who they are, deserves to know when they're going to be a parent."

"Its been done now" Ron said trying to restore calm between his fiancé and his best friend, he didn't want them to fight. "We can't take back what's already happened all we can do is make the best of it. Draco is the father of those children whether we like it or not, which means that he is more than likely going to be part of Harry's life for the foreseeable future, unless of course he is the cold-hearted bastard that we all think that he is."

Everyone was quiet for a moment, Harry knew that Hermione was right and that he shouldn't be too hopeful on the outcome of tomorrow, however he had been obsessed with the blonde Slytherin now since he could remember and he couldn't help but hope that maybe he would want to stay once he had done something that involved him in the process of having the babies.

Harry knew that he was probably being delusional but he couldn't help it, even if Draco wasn't around for the pregnancy and the birth he would still have a piece of the Slytherin in his two children forever. It was one of the reasons that he would never be able to get rid of the twins no matter how much people thought that he should.

To Harry it all made perfect sense, he would be able to go on with his life with his two children, Draco probably wouldn't be there to share in their lives but in the twins he would have a small part of Draco that he could keep forever.

Soon after his argument with Hermione, Harry retreated up to his room, he had Fred and Georges old room that they didn't use anymore. Even all of the weird stuff had been cleaned out. Harry was grateful to crawl into bed and get some sleep, it had been a long day and he had learnt a hell of a lot in such a short space of time.

The bed was lumpy and a little uncomfortable but Harry was so exhausted that he couldn't care less if he slept on the floor. Tomorrow however he would be in his own house with Ron and Hermione next door. Tomorrow he would be going shopping with Draco and moving into his own home.

It was going to be another busy day tomorrow but Harry was well prepared for it. He knew that in seven and a half hours he would be waking up so that he had plenty of time to get dressed and show Ron and Hermione their new house before returning to the Burrow where Draco would meet him at twelve.

The though of meeting Draco put a smile on his face as he settled under the blankets, apart from when they had crossed paths in diagon alley Harry didn't think that he had ever seen Draco outside of school. Harry went to sleep that night thinking about the blonde and fantasising about what kind of life they might one day have together. If Harry had ever been closer to being a silly little school girl with a silly little crush on a guy then this was that moment.


	6. Chapter 6

A Million Reasons

Chapter Six

Harry awoke at ten the next morning when Molly bustled into his room with a breakfast tray carrying scrambled eggs and bacon. There seemed to be more than the usual amount and Harry knew that she was not only feeding him but the twins as well.

Harry couldn't remember a morning that he had woken up happier. He rushed his breakfast and got dressed before hurrying down the stairs. It was eleven o'clock he had an hour before Draco was due to arrive and he wanted to take Hermione and Ron to their new house.

They were luckily already dressed themselves and waiting for him, they were out of the house by ten minutes past and using the floo network to reach their destination. The two houses that Harry had bought were both identical to each other, he had purchased two houses next door to each other in a long line of Victoria terrace houses.

When you walked in through the front door you entered a spacious hallway with a set of stairs leading up. There were three doors off this hallway. One led into a small living room, the second lead into a large open plan kitchen/dinning room and the third led into a small downstairs toilet and shower room.

Up stairs there were three bedrooms. The master bedroom was of course the biggest, then there was a second bedroom that was still fairly spacious and the third bedroom that was more of a box room. Also on the next floor up was the main bathroom that was big enough for a bath and separate shower along with all the other essentials.

Harry had chosen the houses because he had loved their location and he had loved the houses. They had all arrived in Ron and Hermione's house by twenty past eleven and they were able to have a look around before Harry handed over their keys and was able to floo back to the Burrow by quarter to twelve.

He was glad that he had been able to show his two best friends their house even if he had done so somewhat rushed, before he had to be back to meet Draco. He thought that it probably would have been easier to ask Draco to meet him at the new house but he hadn't thought about that at the time.

Molly had taken Ginny out somewhere and Arthur was at work so Harry had the place to himself. He was a little nervous about meeting Draco again, his stomach felt like there were a swarm of butterflies fluttering around in there. Draco arrived exactly at twelve, stepping gracefully out of the fire place dressed in immaculate clothing as always.

There was not an unintentional crease in his black jeans nor a ruffle in his expertly pressed grey, cotton, short sleeved shirt that hung off him in a heavenly way. It was already turning out to be a warm summer so he had bypassed bringing a jacket with him. Harry felt a little under dressed in his presence, he had pulled on his dark denim jeans that were in need of a wash and a creased red shirt that was fraying a little at the hems.

However Harry couldn't really imagine Draco Malfoy dressed in anything other than the best attire. Even for a day out shopping he couldn't be seen dressed in anything but the best. The greeting was a little awkward between the two of them, they eventually settled for a 'hey' and a little nod before an awkward silence ensued.

"So umm, where are we going today?" He asked to fill in the silence between them.

"Just shopping, no place in particular, there are a lot of things that we need to get so I thought we'd start in mothercare, there is a huge one not too far from the house, we'll get everything we … I'll need there." Harry said correcting his phrasing of the sentence as he realised that Draco wouldn't be there using it all with him.

"Okay then, you lead the way because I have no clue where we're going." Draco said with a smile, Harry blushed slightly at this, he knew that he would have to hold Draco's hand at the very least before they could apparate together.

"We'll have to apparate as it's a muggle store so we can't floo. I'll need to take your hand." Harry said a little shyly, they had had sex but now he was embarrassed at holding Draco's hand.

"Are you sure you should be apparating with the … and all." Draco said, it seemed that he too wasn't exactly himself around Harry, even though he hadn't started to show and wouldn't for a long while it was still a little weird to Draco.

"Madam Pomfrey says that I can apparate until I start to show as that'll be when it becomes a problem. So are you ready to go?" Draco nodded and Harry took both of his hands in his own. They were warm to the touch and made Harry's heart skip a beat at the contact.

"Okay then, as long as you aren't going to hurt yourself, lets go." He said and Harry closed his eyes, focused on the location and apparated them away from the Burrow.

The Mothercare that Harry had been aiming for was probably the largest in the U.K. Harry was confident that he would get everything that he needed from here, his first priority was cots and a changing table, there were many other things that he needed to buy but he knew that these were the most important things.

Any maternity clothes that he might want he would have to get from Madame Malkins as no muggle baby store would provide maternity clothes for men because they just wouldn't expect to have to supply them.

Draco looked a little nervous walking into the muggle store, it wasn't often, or at all, that he was permitted to go to muggle stores to buy things, Lucius would have dropped dead of shock to hear that Draco had been shopping outside of the wizarding world, which was why Draco had no intention of telling him. He also had neglected to tell his father with whom he was shopping with and for what purpose. Draco didn't think that his father would have been able to cope with the knowledge that he was going to be a grandfather.

Harry of course didn't care whether or not the other Malfoy's knew, he wasn't going to suddenly be best buddies with them because he was carrying the next generation of their family, it just didn't work like that. He didn't know how Lucius and Narcissa had survived the battle without either being killed by Voldemort or the Order but they had managed it somehow. Harry however wasn't ever going to forgive them everything that they had done and he wasn't going to let them have access to his children either, he really didn't care if they were blood relatives.

Draco looked a little on edge as they entered, the store was packed with muggles with their shopping trolleys and some even had young children in tow. Most of the women had sizable bumps others were hardly beginning to show at all. Others looked timid as they walked around the store, some women alone others with their partners. No one even looked their way as Draco and Harry walked in.

Harry took a trolley and set off into the mass of people with Draco sticking very close to him. He was so overwhelmed by it that the thought of separating in such an expansive area was horrifying so Draco stuck by Harry like something sticky sticks to stuff. Harry noticed the closeness but didn't question it, he liked having Draco so close to him that he could smell the vanilla scent of his hair.

Once they had gone round the expansive store at least three times and bought everything that they could possibly want and more while spending over one thousand pounds, which Draco put on his credit card, something Harry had protested against most profusely, they decided that they were done for the day. Harry couldn't quite believe that they had had such a successful day together, not one fight had ensued, it hadn't even been like they had been stepping on egg shells either, it had been totally relaxed. So relaxed that Harry decided that it wasn't over yet.

"Do you want to come back to mine for a while, help me set some of this stuff up?" Harry asked almost nervously. For a moment he wasn't sure what Draco's response was going to be but finally the blonde nodded his head and Harry let out a breath that he hadn't realised that he had been holding.

"Sure, we could even go out for dinner some place as well if you wanted, with it being a new house I couldn't imagine that you'd have much in the way of groceries in yet." He said and even though Harry was sure he had a few frozen meals in the freezer he smiled and agreed to go.

He couldn't believe how well it was going between them, since they had only just had a one morning fling Harry hadn't thought that Draco would ever make this much effort with him. However he had to remind himself that no matter what they did today or even tomorrow it wouldn't change the fact that Draco would be leaving sooner or later to further his studies as his father wanted him to and there wasn't anything that could change that fact.

When they reached Harry's new home Draco wasn't exactly pleasantly surprised by it, in fact quite the opposite, the fact that it was a muggle street in a muggle town really didn't bode well with him for a start and then the size of the house was ridiculous for a grown adult and two children. Draco had thought that Harry had bought a proper sized house when he said that he had somewhere to live not a dollhouse.

"I know that it isn't much but it's mine and its home." Harry said reading the expression off Draco's face remarkably well. Harry removed all of the shrunken items out of his pockets and motioned for Draco to follow him up stairs. Since Harry had bought the two properties way in advance he had been able to start decorating his before they had moved in. He had finished the master bedroom and the kitchen but all the other rooms were work in progress.

The second bedroom hadn't been touched at all and looked empty and cold, Draco shivered as he walked in. "Do you really expect to let our children sleep in here?" Draco asked him and Harry nodded.

"I know that it's a little depressing in here right now but I do intend to put carpets down and wallpaper Draco, I'm not just going to leave it like this. In fact if you would like to help me we can do it now. I'll take a couple of hours but it'll be worth it." Harry said with a smile as he withdrew his wand.

Since buying his very own house he had wanted to make it as homely as he could, his Aunt and Uncle's house had been neat and immaculate but it had never felt homey, Harry had set about learning how to magically redecorate and had practised until he had become quite good at the different charms. He did struggle with specific patterns but all the basics were easy and the fiddly bits were actually easier to do the muggle way.

Draco however looked sceptical at the idea, he hadn't come dressed for decorating, he had thought that they were going shopping and maybe to dinner, he hadn't thought that their day might progress to painting and decorating a bedroom for the twins.

Harry seemed to read this from Draco and couldn't help but smile at the blonde, "If you want I can lend you something to wear if you don't want to get those dirty." He said and Draco nodded. Harry disappeared into his bedroom and came back carrying some very worn looking jeans with a tear to one knee and a t-shirt that had seen better days maybe ten years ago.

Draco looked at them like they had just tried to cast an Unforgivable curse on him, however he accepted them from Harry without a word, Harry recognized the look of distaste that crossed the blonde's face but neither said anything and Harry couldn't help but inwardly snigger to himself at the fact that Draco was going to put them on without fuss.

Harry and Draco then set to work decorating the nursery. The shopping trip had only taken a couple of hours overall and there was still a long time till dinner so they had plenty of time to do the Nursery. They bickered over the colour for a while because Draco wanted it to be green whereas Harry wanted more neutral colours because he wasn't sure what gender the two babies would be, plus he didn't want his children to be influenced as to what Hogwarts house they should be in before they could even walk or talk.

In the end they settled on cream walls that could be patterned later once the gender of the two children, they also polished up the natural floorboards and varnished them in record time with the use of magic. In three hours the room was completely decorated and it was done four in the afternoon. All they had to do now was to assemble the furniture and put everything they had bought into the newly decorated room. Harry however was reaching the point of exhaustion after using so much magic.

The twins were expectedly draining his magic currently, he had never felt this drained before, apart from after the final battle with Voldemort, it had taken him days to recover from that, he hoped that this pregnancy wouldn't leave him feeling like that otherwise he was going to have to be relying on Ron and Hermione a lot from now on.

"How about we take a break before we go out for dinner?" Harry suggested, he currently just wanted to sit down and relax before they headed out for dinner but he didn't want to admit to Draco that he was now exhausted, Draco however had already figured that out for himself.

"Sure thing, this is your house, I'm just visiting." Draco said with a smile and that smile made Harry's heart flutter, he would never admit it but he actually did feel something for Draco and he was feeling these feelings against his better nature. It was going to hurt a whole lot more when he finally left but he couldn't help wanting him, he couldn't help falling for him.


	7. Chapter 7

A Million Reasons

Chapter Seven

They didn't do a lot of talking over the time that they were resting but they didn't do much else either. Draco opted to avoid the awkward silence that would no doubt ensue and he decided to enlarge everything that they had bought and build the cots along with any other furniture that they had purchased.

Harry chose to doze in his room for a couple of hours, he obviously fell asleep because at six o'clock Draco came in to rouse him. However before he woke him Draco couldn't help but watch him for a moment, he regretted what he had to do but he didn't see any way out of it.

"Come on Harry, get ready and I'll take you to dinner." Draco said, he had already changed his clothes and was ready to go. He had completed the nursery so Harry now had nothing to worry about, everything had been sorted out and arranged, it had been the very least that Draco could have done in light of what he was going to have to do.

He couldn't help but feel an immense amount of guilt over the fact that he was abandoning Harry and their two children, the only way that he could see himself not going away was to tell his father the complete truth about what had happened and if he did that then he ran the risk of drawing Harry into the darker side of the Malfoy family and that wasn't somewhere he wanted Harry or his children to ever be.

He needed Harry and his children to be kept a secret from his father, he would only see the twins as items of extreme power. With the wealth and power of the Malfoy and Potter family combined there wouldn't be any stopping them but he didn't want his children to share his family name, he couldn't inflict that upon them.

Draco had a lot of time to think about this as Harry got ready to go out, while the Gryffindor was fussing over what he should wear the Slytherin sat and regretted what he would have to do. He was due to leave in three days time and he hated that it had to be so soon. He would have loved to spend the entire of the summer with Harry, getting to know him and maybe even starting a proper relationship together but clearly it was not to be.

By seven that evening they were on their way to a nearby restaurant, Harry was too tired to go too far despite his nap. There happened to be a lovely Italian restaurant not too far from the house and that was where they headed. Draco felt as if he were fourteen years old again and out on his first date where he wasn't sure whether or not he should hold his dates hand.

He wasn't sure whether or not Harry would appreciate it if Draco began holding his hand, however what he didn't know was that secretly Harry was hoping that he would. It was odd for both wizards, neither had ever been shy about anything previously and yet now, after they had had sex and conceived twins together, the most basic interactions were far beyond their maturity level.

The restaurant wasn't too busy for a Thursday evening and they managed to get a nice table away from the other diners so that they could talk about magical things without being overheard by nosey muggles.

To begin with it was a little weird but Harry broached the subject of names and what ideas Draco had for the twins, however both of them had very different ideas about was a suitable name for a child of theirs.

"How about Ruby if one of them is a girl?" Harry suggested.

"How about not … I quite like Amiah … or maybe Tristan, my grandfather's name was Tristan." Draco said with a faint smile as he recalled his grandfather who had always been such a nicer person than his father had been.

"Interesting but not really what I was going for, Angel is a pretty name for a girl … what do you think?" Harry asked, he thought that he would love to have a little girl called Angel but from the look on Draco's face he wasn't so keen.

"I think you watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer far too much." Draco said teasingly.

Harry raised an amused eyebrow at this comment, "You know what Buffy the Vampire Slayer is?" He asked in astonishment, "You do know it's a muggle show right?"

"Actually it was originally made for the wizarding world, Joss Whedon is a wizard after all, didn't you know?" Draco said casually and Harry couldn't help but smile at the blonde.

"No, I didn't know that but we're kinda getting off topic here, I love the name Riley and before you say anything I don't love it because he was a character in Buffy!" Harry said quickly when he saw that Draco had been about to open his mouth and comment.

"Wasn't going to say a thing" He said with a chuckle, he couldn't believe how natural this conversation was, he couldn't actually believe that he was having this conversation with Harry Potter of all things. "Though since we were on the subject of names there is a request I want to ask of you."

"I thought we were on the subject of Buffy the Vampire Slayer but I'm following, what request do you want to ask of me?" Harry asked curiously.

"I don't want either of our children having the name of Malfoy. No child should have to suffer with that name, I want that name to die with me. The name of Potter is well respected and worshiped, Malfoy's may be feared but they are feared for the wrong reasons and I don't want any children of mine to grow up with my surname."

"Okay, if you don't want them to have your name then they won't, I was going to ask you about that anyway. You really aren't going to tell your father about them are you?" Harry asked, curious to know the answer.

"No, I'm not, as long as you can keep your pregnancy out of the Prophet or at least keep my name out of it as long as you can then he'll never have to find out. If he does then I know that he'll want to be a part of their lives, he'll demand it, he will want them to be proper heirs to the Malfoy name and fortune." Draco said with a regretful sigh, his childhood had been snatched away from him by his father who thought that playing games was a foolish way for a eight year old to spend his time and had demanded instead that he do something more valuable with his time like learn a new language, learn how to play a musical instrument or practice his spells.

Because of this treatment he was a well educated and a very talented young man however he resented his father for taking away his innocence and he resented his mother for letting it happened without so much as a word of protest.

"I can do my best but the press is going to be all over me now that I've graduated from Hogwarts, they're going to want to know what my next move will be, they're going to want to know what I plan on doing with my life."

"What will you tell them?" Draco asked curiously, he wanted to know what Harry had aspired to be before the whole pregnancy had happened, he wanted to know more about the young man sitting before him that was infamous in the wizarding world.

"I won't tell them anything if I can avoid it. In all honesty before I was told that I was pregnant I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life … I mean what could I do, I've already destroyed Voldemort, I didn't think that there was much left in my life now that I had achieved that. Now I have something that keeps me going, something to focus all my energy on."

"Surely you would have found something if you hadn't have ended up pregnant, I know for a fact that any Quidditch team would be dying to get their hands on you." Draco said with a hint of jealousy, "You're possibly the best seeker in the world."

"Something about being hit with bludger's for the rest of my life somehow didn't really appeal to me and now that I'm pregnant I can't exactly do that, an office job at the Ministry really doesn't appeal, maybe I'll branch out into the muggle world of work, though not until after I give birth of course."

"You seem to have thought about this a lot despite only knowing about it for two days, is that you getting on with your life as best you can or is it you pretending to cope but really having no idea what you're going to do next?" Draco asked sceptically giving Harry a meaningful look.

Harry flushed and bowed his head so he didn't have to look Draco in the eye. The blonde had just located and poked at Harry's sore spot. The Gryffindor would never admit to anyone that he was struggling to cope, a lot of everything he had been doing was just to keep going. Really he hadn't wanted to just stop and think about everything that was happening.

"I don't know …" Harry said in a soft voice, "I haven't really wanted to think about everything too closely … its not like I ever planned that this could happen." He admitted and then he told Draco something that he had not even told Ron and Hermione. "In all honesty I'm scared to death, more scared than I've ever been before. Not even Voldemort has made me this terrified."

"You don't need to be scared Harry, I know that I'm going away soon but if you ever need me to I'll come and see you." Draco said and he knew that it wasn't even nearly enough but it was all that he had to offer.

"When are you going away?" Harry asked not willing to go into how poor an offer Draco had just made but he wanted to know when he could expect Draco to up and leave like he didn't have any responsibilities.

"I have a week before I have to leave." Draco said sounding a little regretful that he had to go at all and Harry picked up on that tone but he didn't day anything.

"I don't know if you're going to like this idea too much but how about spend some of that time together, unless of course you have other things that you need to do." Harry said hopefully, after spending one entire day with Draco he wanted to have more days with him before it was too late.

"I have a few things that I have to do before I leave but other than that I would love to spend more time with you. I feel so guilty about leaving you with such responsibilities, its not fair but there isn't anyway that I can stay." Draco said sounding truly regretful.

"Why, what's forcing you to go?" Harry asked curiously.

"My father, he wants me to further my education before following him into the Ministry. He has plans for me, no doubt he'll try to marry me off to some rich pure blood witch sooner or later as well."

"Why can't you just tell him that it isn't what you want to do?" Harry asked, he had never been one to be ordered into doing things that he didn't want to do, occasionally he could admit that it might have been for the best if he had done because on some occasions he made the wrong choices but that really wasn't the point.

"Because a part of me wanted to leave for a bit, get away from him, now though I'm only going because he wants me to go. It isn't like I have a choice now, after all I did agree to go."

"But if you have a choice, would you stay for me and the twins?" Harry asked knowing full well that Draco's answer could either make him happier or make him cry but whichever it was he had to know.

"If I had a choice in the matter Harry I would stay. If I didn't want to spend time with you then I wouldn't have come out with you today and then asked you to dinner and I certainly wouldn't be spending my last week in England with you but I am." Draco said with a small smile at Harry.

"Where is it that you're studying and what exactly will you be studying, I mean I've never heard of anything after Hogwarts." Harry asked conversationally having got the answer that he wanted from the teen.

"My father wants me to study potions as Severus said I had a knack for it, there is a well known University in Ireland that specialises in potion making and potion ingredients. My father thinks that it will enhance my chances of becoming a successful potion maker within the ministry."

"Ireland isn't that far away, you can always come and visit the three of us, it wouldn't be perfect but at least you would get to see your children." Harry said trying to rationalise the whole thing because it was very clear that there was no way that he was ever going to convince Draco to stay.

"There isn't any way that anyone is going to keep me away. Whenever I can I'll be visiting. I can't believe how much of their lives that I'm going to miss." Draco said and Harry was astounded that he sounded genuinely saddened by this thought.

The rest of the evening went smoothly, Harry and Draco talked and ate, the food was brilliant and the atmosphere perfect for them. It almost felt exactly like a proper date, although Harry couldn't really imagine them dating like a regular couple. As usual Harry hadn't done things the right way and he had ended up in a huge mess as usual but he couldn't exactly say that he wasn't loving his life.

Only three days ago he had had nothing to live for, he had a full on crush on Draco and he had had nothing left to fight for. Three days on from that and he had two things to live for and he was having dinner with the one man that he thought nothing would ever happen with. Harry had decided that he lived in one crazy and messed up world but with everything that tended to happen he had kind of grown a little fond of it.

Draco escorted Harry home once dinner was finished, neither had drunk any alcohol all night, Harry because of the twins and Draco as a mark of decency towards the man carrying his children. The strolled together hand in hand, which was one of the most romantic things that Harry had ever done in his life, he hadn't had much time for romantic attachments while he was fighting Voldemort.

They shared a brief kiss to the cheek once they reached Harry's front door, he didn't invite Draco inside as he was terrified of what would happen if he did. As much as Harry would have loved to have gone down that road again he wasn't sure that it was the wisest of moves that he could make. He almost loved Draco but they only had a week together and Harry didn't want his memories to only be sexual.

He wanted to remember the moments that they had strolled down the street hand in hand, he wanted to recall their shopping experience and when they had decorated the nursery together. That was exactly the kind of thing that Harry wanted to remember about his time with Draco, the one night they had spent together resulting in the conception of the twins would of course stand out vividly in his memory but that was to be expected.


	8. Chapter 8

A Million Reasons

Chapter eight

MYSTERY BOYFRIEND AND PREGNANCY OF HARRY POTTER

The headline of the Daily Prophet announced in bright and bold letters for the world to see, Harry was absolutely horrified to see the front page of the newspaper that morning. After such a good night with Draco he hadn't expected for anything like this to happen.

_Harry Potter, Boy-who-Lived and defeater of He-who-must-not-be-named, has been rumoured to having a steady boyfriend from his school days at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Who this lucky wizard is, no one is one hundred percent sure._

Harry read that line with utter relief, he couldn't quite believe that his pregnancy had been discovered but the name of the other father still remained a close secret.

_A source close to Harry Potter disclosed to the Daily Prophet that the Boy-Who-Lived is currently in the early stages of pregnancy following a Potions accident on the day of his Graduation. Sources can confirm that Harry Potter did not attend his own Graduation._

Harry couldn't quite understand how the Prophet had got all of this information but he knew that someone close to him had betrayed him. Harry was becoming angrier as he continued to read the news article.

_Where the famous Boy-Who-Lived is now is a mystery to all, since Graduating from Hogwarts he has made no move to enquire about any jobs or even accept many of the offers made to him. However with the shocking news of his pregnancy it isn't surprising that Potter has had to re-think his career choices. After being offered the position of seeker on various top class Quidditch teams all over the world it seems that Harry Potter has decided against that career._

As Harry continued to read he began to tear up, he couldn't believe that he had been betrayed in such a way. There had been so very few people that had known about the whole situation and now because of one idiotic person not only him but the twins were in a lot of danger.

There were still Deatheater's out there that wished him harm and now they had easy access to this information, the idea that anyone who wanted to cause him serious harm could read this and discover his weakness, even Draco was a weakness of his. Harry was just thankful that he had not been mentioned in the awful article.

_The identity of the boyfriend and the other father is being kept a closely guarded secret. A source close to our hero has disclosed to the Prophet that despite expecting a child together the relationship between the two is strained at best and is not likely to last long. _

_Harry Potter was unavailable to comment on this as his current location is also being kept from the press for his own safety however we will be trying to contact our hero for a comment. _

As Harry finished reading the article there was a knock on the front door and for a second Harry hoped that it was a Daily Prophet reporter. Whenever he was angry his magic always tended to get the better of him, even now, he could feel the rage coursing through his veins and he was ready for a fight pregnant or not.

However when he opened the door it was not a Daily Prophet reporter but instead it was Draco Malfoy. He was stood on the doorstep, the hood of his cloak drawn up around his head to prevent being recognised. Harry quickly stepped aside and allowed him to enter.

Under one arm Draco had a copy of the Daily Prophet, which meant that he had already seen if not read the article. Harry had been looking forward to a nice and relaxing day with Draco however that didn't seem likely to happen now that the article had come out.

"The entire Wizarding world knows" Draco said as Harry showed him into the kitchen where he was sitting with a mug of caffeine free tea, he poured Draco a cup and the blonde accepted it gratefully as they took a seat at the pine dinning table.

"I know" Harry said simply, "There isn't a lot I can do about it though. I knew that eventually the press would know about it, I had hoped they wouldn't find out this soon but shit happens unfortunately. At least you aren't mentioned, your father doesn't know that you have anything to do with this."

"No, though he casually asked me over breakfast if I knew who it was that you had been seeing while you were at Hogwarts. I said that I didn't know. You do realise that it's only a matter of time until they find you here and then discover that I'm the other father."

"I know, the thing is I am dying to know who gave them all this information, I mean some of it isn't even accurate, you're not even my boyfriend to start with. Plus they never mention twins so really whoever ratted me out to the Prophet was not very well informed. I know it wouldn't have been Dumbledore, Severus or Poppy because they made the unbreakable vow, Ron and Hermione wouldn't do that and apart from you they were the only ones that knew." Harry said musing to himself out loud.

"We'll find out sooner or later, they say that it was a source close to you so I doubt that they will be able to keep it quite, not something this huge, plus if they're close to you then I think its only a matter of tine until they see us together and come to the logical conclusion that I am the other father."

"If you want to leave, I won't hold it against you. I know how much you want to keep this hidden from your father." Harry said, he didn't really want Draco to go but this article made it very difficult for the blonde.

"Nothing is going to make me leave. If we get found out then we'll deal with it, I can handle my father, I just don't want to and I don't want him thinking that he has any rights over these children. I'm not just going to abandon you Harry."

Harry smiled at Draco, "Well that's certainly good to know but I didn't think that you would want the world to know about us. It didn't seem to be something that you're proud off."

"I'm not proud of this" At Draco's words Harry looked crestfallen, "I am going to be a very proud father," Draco said trying to correct what he had said after he realised how Harry had taken it. "I'm just not proud of the way that the twins were conceived, I never thought that it would just happen. I wanted to be in a steady and stable relationship before I had children."

"I guess I'm not the one person that you thought you'd end up with then." Harry said trying to say it with a smile even though he sounded very hurt at the thought, after all he had wanted Draco ever since he had known that he had wanted men, possibly a little longer.

"You're not exactly the worst person in the world Harry, in fact you are the kinda guy that I would normally go for but I have things that I have to do with my life before I settle down and not just things that my dad wants me to do. I do like you but I'm not ready to settle down, we're only seventeen."

"That's the thing Draco, I've lived my life, I've done the most extraordinary things with my life and I'm ready to settle down and just be normal for once in my life, I know that I'm only seventeen but I think that I'm ready for this."

"I know that you are, I don't doubt that you're ready, you're more mature than someone twice your age. I'm sorry that I feel as if I have to live my life before I settle down but that isn't going to change."

"Can you promise me that when you do decide to settle down that it'll be with me?" Harry asked, bracing himself for the answer, the article had shaken up a lot in Harry's mind and he wanted to know whether or not he could be hopeful about his and Draco's future or whether he should safe himself the heartache.

"I don't know Harry, I know that you're carrying my children and everything but it was only one time. I don't know how I feel about all of this. I like you, I think you're attractive and you're great to be around but I can't promise that as soon as I'm ready to settle down that I'll immediately come and be with you."

Harry paused for a moment because this hadn't been the answer that he had wanted, although it was the answer that he knew was the more likely. He didn't really know how to feel about this, he wanted Draco so badly but that answer meant that it was more than likely that they would never be together.

With the day now having taken a downward spiral Harry didn't think that he wanted to spend it with Draco, he had been so looking forward to it as well. He had forgotten how egotistical the blonde Slytherin could be at times, it was now that Harry realised that they would never have ended up together, the fact that they had slept together meant nothing and the only reason that Draco was here now was because he felt obliged to be until he had to leave.

Harry hadn't felt so heartbroken in his life, realising that Draco didn't feel anything for him, although it was a complete shock it still hurt. Draco on the other hand knew that this conversation had gone all wrong. He had been so intent on hiding his feelings and not hurting Harry more than he had to that he had almost destroyed the boy completely without even realising it.

"Maybe I should go" Draco said realising that he had just upset Harry had that had been something that he hadn't wanted to do. "I'm sorry that I'm such a disappointment to you."

"Draco, you're not a disappointment to me, I just wish that things were easier between us. It isn't like we've been best friends for the past seven years, the only reason that we're in this position is because I decided that I wanted to clear the air between us." Harry said leaving out the bit about how he had had a crush on him. "The fact is that I'm now carrying your children and you don't want to be with me. This is exactly why I didn't want you to know in the first place, I knew that you wouldn't be interested."

"That isn't exactly fair Harry, I am interested –"

"Just not interested enough to stick around," Harry said bluntly.

"I'm not going to win this am I?" Draco asked.

"No, you're probably not." Harry said struggling not to cry.

"Then I'm going to go … I guess I'll see you around then Harry."

"I guess so Draco."

With that Draco disapperated away right in front of him and Harry broke down into noisy sobs right there at his beautiful pine dinning table. He put his head in his arms and just cried. His emotions were getting the better of him but for that moment he just didn't care.

He had felt so close to Draco yesterday and now because of one stupid article he had lost that. As he sat and cried Harry realised something, he was the saviour of the wizarding world and yet here he sat reduced to tears because of one person. He thought he had been stronger than this.

Harry sat up and took a few deep breathes, wiping his tears away. He wouldn't let Draco get to him, if he didn't want to be involved in raising his two children then so be it. Harry wasn't going to make it his problem. Draco could either be involved with them completely or he could not be involved at all. Harry was so angry at the Slytherin that he was fully prepared to cut him out of his life completely apart from the twins of course.

Harry was going to make a life for himself, a great life for him and his two children. He had two great friends living next door to him and even though the Prophet was still hounding him they didn't have a clue where he was and therefore he was safe for the moment. They could print whatever they liked but it wasn't going to change anything.

The only problem that Harry could foresee was that now the entire world knew about his pregnancy the remaining Deatheater threat also knew. Of course the wizarding world didn't know that he was having twins but they still knew that in nine months time there would be a child who would be Harry Potter's greatest weakness.

Harry was going to have to be extremely careful, however he wasn't going to let that rule his life. He wanted to live and be normal and that was what he was going to do. Harry remained sitting at the dinning table for a few more minutes before deciding that he wanted to do something with his day.


	9. Chapter 9

A Million Reasons

Chapter Nine

Harry ended up next door talking with his two best friends for the majority of the day. It was nice to have a sympathetic ear and two people who understood completely what he was going through. It was at times like these when he was glad that he had Ron and Hermione.

They sat with him and listened as he told them about what had happened with Draco earlier that day. They didn't seem at all shocked about the things that he had said and Harry noticed that Hermione even seemed to be feeling a little guilty about the whole ideal, which Harry assured her wasn't her fault even though it was because she had been the one to tell Draco.

"So what are you going to do now mate?" Ron asked, on some level he had known how much Harry had wanted things to work out with Draco, after all they had shared a dorm room for seven years, he had always had a slight hunch about Harry's obsession with Draco though he had never wanted to say anything.

"Just go on I guess. I've lived this long without him I can live without him for the rest of my life. It's just complicated now because of the twins." Harry said, he was feeling more than a little depressed and Ron and Hermione knew that it wasn't good for Harry to get himself into that kind of mood.

"Ron and I were talking yesterday that we might have a house warming party, you know invite some of our old friends to come over for a drink." Hermione suggested, "It might cheer you up to see everyone again."

Even though it had only been a couple of days Harry couldn't have agreed more, he already missed Seamus, Dean and Neville. "Okay, that sounds like a great plan, when are you thinking about having it?" Harry asked.

"Tomorrow night actually, we kinda invited everyone already, we were on our way round to ask you when you came over." Ron said with a smile, "Plus I'm sure that there will be a million guys there that can take your mind of Malfoy."

Harry couldn't help but smile at his best friend, Ron may not have had a clue about how he was feeling about Draco but Ron was right about one thing, hooking up with random guys would make him feel a lot better, after all he was only seventeen, he was still a teenager even if the wizarding world saw him as man. He still had the hormones of a seventeen year old boy and if anything they were doubled due to the pregnancy so he was determined to have fun.

"Fantastic, who's coming?" Harry asked.

"Dean, Seamus, Neville, Lavender, Parvati, Padma, Oliver, Fred, George, Bill, Charlie and a few others." Hermione said.

"Fantastic" Harry said with a smile, looking forward to the coming evening already, he knew that his friends would help him no matter what. Draco Malfoy was now the last thing on his mind, he had to decide what to wear and get ready for tomorrow evening.

The anger that he had felt that morning had all evaporated and was now being replaced by undiluted excitement. The thought of attending a party like a normal guy was a thrilling prospect, Harry only wanted things to get back to normal. The party held that promise for Harry, being around his old friends meant familiarity and normality.

That night Harry went to bed happy, he knew that somewhere out there was Draco, the father of his children but he just couldn't bring himself to think of the blonde Slytherin who so far had given him a reason to keep on living and then confused him and abandoned him. Harry didn't know how to feel towards Draco anymore, even though he wanted to love him he knew that only hurt lay down that road and he was determined not to go there.

Tomorrow would be better, Harry promised himself that. He hoped that there wouldn't be any more articles to upset him, things could get a lot worse for him and that was what he had to keep telling himself.

Of course life could never be easy for Harry Potter and mid-morning Albus Dumbledore turned up at his front door. At this rate everyone was going to know where he lived. He hadn't told the headmaster where he was going the only people that he had told were Ron and Hermione. Not even the party guests were going to know that he lived next door to them.

Harry hadn't even been out of bed when Albus had rang the bell, Harry had answered the door dressed only in black boxers and a grey t-shirt. The headmaster took in Harry's appearance with calm indifference as he walked in without first being invited.

Harry was too tired to be irritated but he didn't offer the headmaster a drink or anything, the annoying man had got him out of bed and he was feeling a little nauseous. He knew that this was due to the pregnancy, at least he didn't feel like making a dash for the toilet.

"Can I help you?" Harry asked yawning.

"I have come to discuss the article in the Prophet." Albus said.

"Has there been another one?"

"No, not since yesterday."

"Then what is there to discuss?"

"I want to know who the father is Harry, it is only a matter of time until it appears in the Prophet." Dumbledore said, "Does he know that you're pregnant?"

"Yes, actually he does but he doesn't want the world to know and he doesn't want to be involved with the twins either so I'm not going to give you his name so you can harass him about it."

"I am glad that you decided to tell him but it worries me that he doesn't want to have any involvement. Most pure bloods would want their children with them no matter the circumstances so from that I can only assume that they are not a pure blood wizard."

Harry shrugged and made his way through to the kitchen, he wanted something to drink, he was craving coffee but knew he couldn't have it, he would have to settle with decafe. Dumbledore followed him and watched him as he made a single mug, not even bothered to offer the headmaster something.

"It worries me that you are caring so little about this Harry." The headmaster said, "You are seventeen years old and you will have two children come April and you seem quite frivolous to that fact."

"Did you want me to run round like a headless chicken panicking?" Harry asked, "I could do that if you wanted me to, I don't see that it would help matters, but would you feel a little more relaxed if I panicked?"

"Don't be absurd Harry, I was merely saying that you seem to be very calm about the fact that you are going to be a father at such a young age and you aren't even in a steady relationship. The press have already picked up on that."

"Albus, if you really want to help me you can find out who the 'close source' who is giving away all this to the Prophet because I would love to beat them to a bloody pulp for invading my privacy. If you don't want to help then please butt out, I'm by no means calm about the situation, I just don't think that freaking out about it is going to help matters." Harry said reasonably.

"Have you prepared at all for the coming of the children?" Dumbledore asked causally. Harry knew that he was prying but he didn't care, he knew that the headmaster would do this, he had been expecting it.

"Actually I have, I have decorated the nursery and bought all the furniture, I'll need to get the basics like nappies and stuff but other than that I'm ready." Harry said truthfully, he was physically ready however he didn't think he was quite emotionally ready but Dumbledore didn't need to know that.

"Very well, if you really think that you are ready for this then I will push no more for the name of the other father. I just hope that you realise what it is that you are doing Harry. I have only ever wanted the best for you."

"Bullshit! I was just a way for winning the war to you, I know that and I have for a long time. Don't pretend that you give a damn Albus, no one who actually cared for me would have allowed me to fight Voldemort as much as I did. If you had cared then you would have protected me from him but instead you practically pushed me into fighting him." Harry snapped, his emotions really were getting the better of him recently.

"I do not think that that is exactly fair Harry, after all it wasn't any fault of mine that you ended up in battle with Voldemort time and time again. Your determination to play the hero played a major role in that."

"I wasn't given any other reason to live, it was drilled into my head so much that I was the saviour that I believe that that was what I had to do. You did what you thought was the best way to get me to kill Voldemort, manipulating me into believing that I was the only one that could stop him. You could have finished him off, I think in the end Neville could have done it if he had had luck on his side." Harry said.

"I did what I had to do to protect you and the wizarding world, now every witch and wizard alive owes you a life debt. I am sorry you feel such resentment towards me because I truly thought that what I did for you was for the best."

"I've been happy to tolerate your manipulating ways this long Dumbledore but I won't have you anywhere near my children. If you saw yourself always being here, ensuring that my babies also played to our tune then you were mistaken. I don't want you anywhere near them while they're growing up."

"I think that you have made your feelings about me perfectly clear Harry and I understand precisely why you have said these things to me and I will not ask you to reconsider your judgement on me for I realise that it is useless. Your father was just as stubborn when it came to his reasoning."

"Don't bring my parents into this." Harry said knowing that he would get angry if Dumbledore continued the argument like this. He was already getting pretty annoyed at the older wizard and Harry had had enough of constantly being at his beck and call.

"Please accept my apologies, I will pass on this address to Poppy and to Severus as they will be supplying you the help you need throughout this pregnancy. They will be the ones overseeing that nothing goes wrong." Dumbledore said.

"Is that everything because I have things that I need to do today?" Harry asked, he knew that he was being rude but he just couldn't bring himself to be polite to the older wizard. He had a lot of issues with the elderly headmaster.

"I believe that that is everything, yes, I am sorry to have disturbed you so early." Albus said with a curt nod of his head, "I will show myself out." He added and then swept from the room. Harry watched him go guilt free, he hoped that he had got the message that he didn't want him around.

Harry had lied when he had said that he had had things that he needed to do today, unless picking an outfit classified as something, which it probably did but it wouldn't have taken him all day to do.

Harry spent the remainder of the day doing odd jobs around the house, finishing off some of the decorating and ordering furniture off the internet to be delivered. He was trying this whole new thing that meant that he didn't need to use magic all the time and it was so far working really well. He did use magic for the decorating but only because doing it the muggle way was so much hassle and not to mention extremely time consuming.

The party wasn't due to start until eight which meant that the guests would start to arrive soon after. Harry didn't intend to appear until nine, choosing to be fashionably late and make an entrance.

He was truly looking forward to seeing his old friends again, it hadn't been long since they had last seen each other, only a matter of days in fact, but Harry still missed them terribly. He may have outgrown Hogwarts but he still missed being there, it had been his home for seven years and since he hadn't felt like he had had a home before that, only a cupboard, it had meant a lot to him.


	10. Chapter 10

A Million Reasons

Chapter Ten

Harry stepped out of the shower, dripping wet and groped for a towel that he wrapped around his waist. His long ebony hair was dripping onto his shoulders, sending droplets of water trickling down his muscular chest.

He had half an hour until the party started though he aimed to be there in an hour and a half, which meant that he had plenty of time to get ready. It had taken him pretty much all day to pick out his outfit, tight fitting denim jeans and an emerald green turtle neck jumper that matched the colour of his eyes.

He moved through into his bedroom and sat down cross legged on the bed, towel still wrapped around his waist as he began to blow dry his hair. Even though it was still as messy as ever it was also longer than he had dared to have it while at the Dursley's. It now almost reached his shoulders.

Harry had taken to blow drying and straightening it after washing it just so that it looked like it was supposed to be that messy rather than looking like he just couldn't be bothered. He had been so determined not to think about Draco and have a good time at the party.

And speaking of Draco he had been moping about the manor avoiding his father and packing, he had been supposed to leave the day after graduation but he had been putting it off because of Harry. He had told the Gryffindor that he had to leave in five days, the problem was that now that he and Harry were fighting there didn't seem to be any point in delaying his departure anymore.

He hated to leave what with him and Harry on bad terms but the problem remained that they didn't seem to be able to get along. He planned on going to see Harry that evening and saying goodbye. He knew that he had really hurt Harry by saying that they would never be together in that sense of the word.

His father was delighted that he was finally leaving, he had started to get very suspicious of the fact that Draco had been delaying his departure. Lucius Malfoy was set on his son become a world class potions master just like his Godfather Severus Snape. Lucius would be ecstatic for that to be his son's fate. He had also been looking into potential candidates for marriage because of course Draco would have to marry a pure-blooded witch so to keep up the honourable family name.

Draco knew all of this of course and he wasn't fighting it, he couldn't bring himself to fight it, he loved his parents greatly and he didn't want to disappoint them. His father may have been a cold hearted bastard a lot of the time but his intentions were in the right place. His mother wasn't nearly as mean, she doted upon her only child, she had wanted more children but she had miscarried three times after Draco was born and then was declared infertile.

They had their reasons for being the way that they were and all they wanted was for Draco to settle down with a suitable witch or wizard and have children that would carry on the Malfoy name. Draco knew that they would never accept Harry Potter into the family and all Draco wanted to do was to please his parents as best he could.

Draco would admit to no one that he actually had feelings for the famous Harry Potter, he couldn't have shared that secret with anyone. He had said the things that he had to Harry because he knew that if he had led him on any further then he would have been heartbroken.

Lucius wanted a grandchild that he could tutor in the ways of the Dark Arts and encourage into the ways of being Slytherin. He wouldn't have been able to cope with the knowledge that his grandchildren were part Gryffindor.

Harry had no idea about any of Draco's worries over this and he also had no idea that Draco would be coming to see him this evening, if he had known this then maybe he wouldn't have gone out with the intention to flirt outrageously with any male that he found slightly attractive.

He had finished doing his hair within half an hour and was now ready to leave, dressed in his tight jeans and emerald green jumper. It truly made him look downright sexy. He had even preformed a spell so that he didn't have to wear his glasses anymore which meant that his eyes were a lot more vivid and noticeable.

Harry hoped to get Oliver Wood alone tonight, all that Quidditch had turned him gay, who wouldn't turn gay flying around with a bit of wood between their legs and chasing after balls all day for a career. Harry hadn't seen Oliver in a long time and he was actually looking forward to the chance to get him alone tonight.

The young man was young and attractive and he had the cutest Scottish accent. Harry had seen photos of him since leaving Hogwarts and signing with Puddlemere and he had to admit that professional Quidditch agreed with him.

Harry could hear the party raging next door and he knew that he should make his way over, he didn't bother with a jacket as he was only going next door. He knew he looked hot and was satisfied that he would be able to seduce Oliver.

The party really was well on its way, a lot of people had already had a fair amount to drink. Harry knew that he shouldn't be drinking and was determined to stick to the non-alcoholic variety of drink tonight. Ron greeted him as he walked in and he was soon meeting and greeting a lot of his old friends, seeing them again put a smile on his face.

The music was blaring and he was getting his fair of the attention as he wove through the crowd, trying to locate his target. He was certainly receiving a few lustful looks from some of the party goers. Harry felt very satisfied that he had chosen the right outfit for his purposes of the evening.

Finally Harry managed to spot Oliver talking Quidditch to Seamus and casually he made his way over to the pair. Seamus was saying something about the newest model of broomstick in his thick Irish accent.

"Hey guys" Harry said sending a seductive smile at Oliver, such a smile that any fan girl or boy would love to be on the receiving end of.

"Hey Harry" They both send in unison, the difference was Oliver's gaze lingered on him, appreciating the outfit that he was wearing. He did always like to stop and appreciate things to the fullest.

"So, there was an interesting article in the paper yesterday about you Harry, was it true?" Oliver asked, his tone casual and his eyes staying locked on Harry's.

"Parts of it" Harry said mysteriously, he found it fascinating that Oliver was asking him about this and he wanted to know why.

"Saying that you have a boyfriend for example," Oliver continued and Harry couldn't help but smile at the older man's subtlety for enquiring as to whether Harry was currently spoken for or not.

"That was a lie, I'm single, however I am pregnant." He said, he wanted to make sure that Oliver knew that before they continued with the flirting and seduction.

"Well that's interesting, seeing as you're single and all how about a dance?" Oliver asked and at this Seamus smirked at the pair and wandered off to find someone else to talk to.

"I would love to." Harry said and he allowed Oliver to lead him to the part of the living room that had been turned into a dance floor, there were many people crowded into the area but the couple eventually found a space to accommodate. Though it was a very small area and they ended up very close, rubbing sensually against each other to the beat of the music.

Off to the corner Hermione noticed the two and nudged Ron in the side to point it out to him. "Seems Harry's having fun" She said with a smile and Ron nodded and returned the grin. Both were happy for their friend and were overjoyed at the fact that he wasn't sulking in a corner thinking about Draco.

Draco mean while was just arriving at Harry's front door and was taken aback when no one answered his knocking. He then noticed the music coming from next door and remembered that Ron and Hermione lived next door and gathered that that would be where Harry was.

He made his way and entered, the door had been left on the latch for the convenience of the guests. No one tried to stop him as he entered although there were many curious glances sent his way as he made his way through the house in search of Harry.

It was then that he spotted the raven haired Gryffindor, on the dance floor, getting very up close and personal with Oliver Wood and suddenly Draco saw red. Ron and Hermione had noticed his entrance and sensing trouble they sprang into action. Ron went to alert Harry of Draco's presence and Hermione went to Draco to calm him down and attempt to persuade him to leave.

Draco was finding it very difficult to keep calm as he made his way over to Harry, Hermione stopped him briefly but before she could get a word in he pushed her aside, he reached Harry just as Ron finished telling him that the blonde was there. Oliver was looking a little confused and slightly miffed as well that his dance with Harry had been interrupted.

Before anyone realised what was happening Draco had drawn back his fist and punched Oliver clear on the nose, the force and the surprise of it caused Oliver to fall to the floor with blood pouring from his nose. The music stopped, everything went silent and all the guests just stared.

"Stay away from Harry, Wood, he's mine!" The aggressive and angry looking blonde snarled as Harry crouched down to see if Oliver was alright. At these words however Harry's head snapped upwards and he fixed Draco with a stern glare.

"How dare you Draco! I'm in no way yours! You have no right to claim any such thing!" He snapped as Hermione came to help stop the bleeding, waving her wand in a expertly practised fashion.

"You're carrying my children!" Draco snapped back.

"So what? You're leaving remember, you don't want anything more to do with us."

The crowd remained silent, taking everything in. Harry didn't care, the news was already out that he was pregnant, everything else had had to be kept secret because of Draco's father but now everyone knew that and Harry knew that it was more than likely that it would be splashed across the Daily Prophet in the morning. As if on cue the flash of a camera went off right before Harry and Hermione helped Oliver back on to his feet.

"Harry!" Draco said as Harry, Hermione and Oliver moved their way through the crowd, heading to Harry's house to get away form the mass of people and from Draco.

Harry said nothing, he couldn't summon up the words, it meant a lot that he had come back but he had been way out of line doing what he had to Oliver. Harry wasn't sure how he felt about the blonde anymore, it seemed that he had a possessive side and some twisted part of his brain had classified Harry as his property. How that worked Harry didn't know but currently he didn't care, he just wanted to get away from the party guests and talk to Oliver in private so that he could apologise.


	11. Chapter 11

A Million Reasons

Chapter Eleven

"Thanks Mione, I can take it from here." Harry said once they had got outside. Hermione gave him a meaningful look but nodded all the same and left them to it as Harry helped Oliver into his house.

They moved into the sitting room and collapsed on the sofa together. Harry was more than just a little embarrassed about the whole incident and knew that he should have stayed and spoken to Draco but he couldn't bring himself to go and speak to the Slytherin.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked as they sat on the sofa, Harry turned to face Oliver and crossed his legs, staring at his old Quidditch captain.

"Yeah I'm okay, Malfoy doesn't have much of a right hook thankfully. Is he really the father of your baby?" Oliver asked.

"Babies and yes." Harry said.

"Babies?"

"Yes, I'm expecting twins."

"Okay" Oliver said trying to process everything that he was being said, "But everything he said about you being his … that wasn't true right?"

"Oh I'm single," Harry said with a smile.

"Because you're pretty irresistible Harry." Oliver said as he leaned forward and captured Harry's lips in a searing kiss. Harry was so taken aback by the kiss that for a moment he didn't respond, but he quickly melted into the kiss.

"Wow" Harry said once they had parted, "That was some kiss."

"Want to take it further?" Oliver asked as he ran his hands through Harry's silky smooth raven hair.

Harry bit his lip and pretended to think about it before nodding. "Okay" He said and Oliver began to kiss him again.

The kisses were so heated and passionate that Harry just wanted Oliver to push him back and ravish him right there on the sofa. His hormones really were getting the better of him but at that moment he just didn't care.

Draco meanwhile had been dragged into an empty room by Ron and the blonde Slytherin was not happy. When he had seen Harry dancing with Oliver Wood it had unleashed many varied emotions but one thing was very clear, he felt more strongly towards Harry than he had realised that he had.

"What do you think that you're playing at Malfoy?" Ron demanded, "Harry's told us everything so I don't know what makes you think that you have the right to go round claiming that Harry is yours."

"I only came to say goodbye to him, I'm leaving tomorrow, I was supposed to leave the day after graduation but I delayed it, I wanted to spend time with him but after the article we just ended up fighting, so I decided that I'd leave tomorrow but when I saw him and Oliver … I just lost it." Draco said.

"That's great Draco but maybe it would have been better if you had just left after graduation. Hermione may have thought that you had the right to know that you were going to be a father but you don't have any rights over Harry and now this whole ordeal is going to be splashed over the Daily Prophet tomorrow morning." Ron said as Hermione entered the room to see what was going on.

"Where's Harry?" Draco asked thinking that he already knew the answer to that question. "Please don't tell me you let him and Oliver go off on their own!"

"Actually I did, Harry told me to leave them to it so I did. He's a big boy I think that he can take care of himself Draco. I don't know why you came here tonight but I think that you should leave and don't even think about bothering Harry again, he really doesn't want to see you."

"I need to see him, I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I just want to talk to him for a minute." Draco said desperate to speak to Harry, he didn't want to leave when they were on such bad terms. Draco couldn't actually believe that he had punched Oliver Wood because he had been dancing with Harry.

"Forget it Draco" Hermione said to him, actually sounding a little bit sorry for him. "It isn't going to happen. I think that it's about time that you realised that you and Harry aren't ever going to be together." She said and Ron nodded.

"I know I'm not exactly the person that you thought Harry would end up with but he is carrying my children, you can't deny that fact!" Draco pointed out.

"No we can't but that was a mistake, one mistake and one that Harry will be paying for his entire life. It's time that you left now Malfoy. If Harry is going to end up with anyone it's going to be Oliver and he's going to be happy with him."

"You don't know that though." Draco said outraged. "How do you know that Harry will be any happier with Oliver than he would be with me, you just don't know that?"

"I know that you're already causing him nothing but pain and I know that he's better off without you." Hermione said as Ron drew his wand.

"Now, are you going to leave or am I going to have to curse you?" Ron threatened, pointing his wand directly at Draco, the Slytherin realised that he would not win this fight and that he should leave. Normally he would have put up much more of a fight but they were right of course, he and Harry could never be together, it wasn't logical. It didn't matter that they would have twins together, as Ron and Hermione had said it had been a mistake and one that he didn't even have to live with. Right now he knew that Harry and Oliver were probably having sex and that knowledge made his heart ache but there was nothing that he could do about it.

He was leaving tomorrow, he couldn't stay and Harry wasn't about to go with him, though that would have been the logical thing to happen but Draco didn't think he would ever convince Harry to move away from his friends.

Harry and Oliver meanwhile had moved into the bedroom and were undressing each other feverishly. Desperate to be rid of any clothing barriers between them. The heat and the passion between them was undeniable.

They shared no words as they fell backwards onto the bed, Oliver on top, as their lips met in a crushing kiss. Their erections rubbing together, Harry moaned into the kiss, his hormones screaming at him to keep going, to take it all the way. Although his mind was on other things, or I should say it was on someone else. He kept thinking that he should be here with Draco not with Oliver.

However his body was saying all the right things and he didn't think that he could have stopped even if he had wanted to. Oliver was very talented with his hands and his tongue and there was very little Harry could do to stop the pleasure vibrations going through his body.

The next morning Harry woke up with Oliver's muscular arms wrapped around him and they were both butt naked. Harry groaned as he remembered exactly what he had done the previous evening and what had happened with Draco. Hermione's spell had worked great, there wasn't a mark on Oliver now.

Harry disentangled himself from the arms of his bed mate, grabbed his bathrobe and made his way downstairs, he didn't want to be there when Oliver awoke. Before he could make his way into the kitchen however an envelope on the doormat caught his attention. He knew it was far too early for the mail to have arrived.

Harry picked it up and instantly he recognized the italic scrawl that had formed his name on the envelope. With shaking hands he opened it and pulled out the folded parchment.

_Dearest Harry. _

_I wanted to talk to you before I left but your friends wouldn't permit it, I am sorry for how I behaved, I guess that just shows you that I really do have feelings. Never have I acted in such a way that is what you do to me. _

_I have gone now, I had been delaying my departure because of you but it seems that even in our current circumstances we still end up at each others throats. Your friends tell me that you will be better off without me, I don't know if this is true or not but I hope that you are happier now that I am gone. _

_I won't be back for three years now, the course I am embarking on is an intensive programme of study that does not allow for breaks, if I leave it, it must be because I never intend on returning to it. _

_I want you to know that no matter what happens I want you to keep me updated on the progress of the twins as they will always be in my heart just as you always will be as well. I do not know if my father knows that the twins you are carrying are mine or not but I hope for your sake that he does not. _

_I wish you all the happiness in the future Harry Potter, I hope that you can forgive me and that you never forget me for even when I return I do not think that I will be able to see you. My father intends to marry me off to someone of pure blood and high status, that someone could never have been you however much I might have wanted it. _

_All my heart, Draco Malfoy. _

It wasn't exactly a romantic love note but it was from the heart and Harry knew this, it would have been difficult for Draco to write anything of that sort. He didn't know how he felt about this, he had to read the note over a couple more times before it truly sunk in to his brain about what he was reading.

By choosing not to talk to Draco last night it seemed that he had lost his only chance to make things right with the Slytherin. He didn't think that he had ever felt so guilty about anything in his life, he knew Draco had acted rashly but in some twisted way it had shown his feelings and now it seemed as if Harry had lost even that.

However the letter was not the only bad news that Harry received that day. While Oliver was still sleeping upstairs the Daily Prophet arrived, the headline was enough to make Harry want to burst into floods of tears.

SAVIOUR IMPREGNANTED AND ABANDONED BY DEATHEATER!

It wasn't a headline that Harry ever wanted anyone to associate with him, however it seemed that his worst nightmare was finally coming true and he wasn't sure how he was going to cope with it. Ron and Hermione had helped as much as they could but now all he wanted was Draco and he had gone and it seemed that he was going to stay that way.

Harry collapsed at the dinning table with a large mug of decaffeinated coffee that he had loaded up with cream and sugar. He then set about reading the article that once again had rated the front page. Why the world was obsessed with his personal life he didn't know but he hated it.

He had moved into the muggle world and he had taken his two best friends with him and the wizarding reporters were still writing article after article about him. It was really starting to get to him in a major way.

_The Boy-Who-Lived is suffering another blow in his life, if he thought that since the downfall of You-know-who that everything would be easy he was very much mistaken. As it has been revealed that not only is he pregnant with TWINS but the other father is non-other than Draco Malfoy, who is the son and heir of a well known Deatheater who switched sides very close to the final battle and was granted freedom by Harry Potter. _

_It was revealed last night at a house warming party that Harry Potter attended when Draco Malfoy turned up. The situation became so desperate that the Malfoy heir reduced himself to a form of muggle duelling and punched Oliver Wood, star keeper for Puddlemere United, because he was dancing with our Saviour. _

_It is now rumoured that despite the pregnancy Oliver Wood and Harry Potter are now and item as they disappeared for the rest of the evening. The whereabouts of Draco Malfoy are currently unknown and we have been unable to get in touch with any of the parties involved for comment. _

Harry couldn't bring himself to read the rest of the article, he threw it down on to the table where he tried desperately to calm his building temper. He had never been so angry before, he was an A-list celebrity in the Wizarding world and he hated every moment of it. He didn't want the fame, he had certainly never asked for it, he had done exactly what Dumbledore had wanted of him and now he was stuck in this mess.

He couldn't do anything with his life without the press reporting on it, if he had people around him then he could be sure that someone would be reporting to the newspapers about him and what he was doing. He definitely didn't want to cut himself off from everyone he knew, he wasn't the kind of person who ran from his problems anyway.

Oliver appeared as Harry sat contemplating what he was going to do, he had already stowed Draco's letter away as he didn't want Oliver to see it. He didn't know how he felt about Oliver, he felt nothing close to what he felt for Draco but that wasn't the point. He wanted so much to just follow his heart and go the Slytherin, kiss and have the fairy tale ending that he wanted to have but he knew that it would never work that way.

In reality there were no fairy tale endings, life was what it was, he had been dealt his cards and he had to live with that. Oliver was here now and Draco wasn't, sometimes that was just how things went.

Harry knew all too well that life wasn't always perfect, his life had always been far from it. Before graduation he hadn't even been sure he could have faced having nothing left to live for but now that Draco had given him something that he could keep fighting for he just wanted more. He knew that Oliver would never compare to Draco but the problem was he just didn't know what he should do anymore. He had a very difficult choice to make.

He wanted to give Draco a reason to stay but he wasn't sure that it would be enough to convince the Slytherin that it was worth giving up his dreams and also abandoning the hope of making his parents proud. He had never realised how much Draco had been battling against, maybe Harry just had to face facts that they really weren't supposed to be together.

"Morning baby." Oliver said as he came in wearing only very tight boxers that left nothing to the imagination.

"Morning" Harry returned thoughtlessly, his mind wandering elsewhere.

"Sleep well?"

"Extremely, Oliver, would you mind if I popped out for a bit, feel free to stay here until I get back there is just something that I have to do first." Harry said making up his mind in a quick and irrational way.

"Um, sure, where are you going?" Oliver asked as Harry stood up and began to make his way through the house to go and get dressed.

"There is just something that I have to do." Harry said vaguely as he took the stairs two at a time.


	12. Chapter 12

A Million Reasons

Chapter Twelve

Harry had no idea what he was doing or why it was that he was doing this. He didn't even know if anything would come of it but what he did know was that he had to try and if he didn't then he would regret it for the rest of his life and he didn't want to have to tell his children that he had let their other father just walk away without a fight.

Draco had never been specific about where he was going so Harry knew that he would have to gather up all of his Gryffindor bravery and go to Malfoy Manor and demand to know where Draco was from Lucius who would have no doubt seen the Daily Prophet by now.

Harry didn't even s ay goodbye to Oliver before he ran from the house with nothing in his pockets apart from a few sickles and his house keys, he held his wand in his hand and signalled the Knight Bus.

It would have been quicker to apparate but he wasn't sure exactly where Malfoy Manor was situated and he didn't want to risk it. The Knight bus was a little more time consuming but it was a lot safer, especially while carrying the twins.

His stomach was a bundle of nerves as he told Stan Shunpike exactly where he wanted to go. He couldn't quite believe that he was doing this. He was about to confront Lucius Malfoy and he didn't think that even the Dark Lord could have made him feel so terrified. After all it had been simple with Voldemort, a kill or be killed situation, this was so much different.

Stan gave him a knowing look as he boarded and said that his destination was Malfoy Manor, it seemed that he had been reading the Daily Prophet and sure enough Harry spotted it tucked under one arm as he paid him.

He was glad to disembark from the Knight bus once he had reached his destination, he had been receiving so many stares and there had been so many hushed whispers that he almost hadn't been able to stand it. He hated being so known and currently all he wanted was to find Draco.

Malfoy manor was just as impressive as he had imagined it to be, he watched the Knight bus disappear round the corner and away from him, leaving him standing before the gates of the grand house wondering what to do next. He could sense the magic round the place and he didn't want to risk going in.

Harry then withdrew his wand and produced his pratronus. The silver stag galloped up to the manor house and inside to find Lucius Malfoy. It didn't take long before the older Malfoy came outside looking positively irritated at being disturbed. He looked practically livid at the sight of Harry Potter standing at his gates.

"What do you want Potter?" Lucius asked, he didn't sneer or try to sound intimidating, he just sounded a little annoyed.

"Is Draco there?" Harry asked desperately hoping that maybe he hadn't missed him but knowing that he probably had because luck didn't seem to be on his side right now.

"No, he has gone." Lucius said bluntly. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Yes, where has he gone?" Harry demanded, he knew that he was getting desperate but he didn't care how he seemed to this man, he couldn't have cared if Lucius thought that he was a raving lunatic, he just had to find Draco.

"Potter, I do not see why you are so desperate to locate my son, unless of course what the Daily Prophet said was true and you are indeed pregnant."

"What is it to you Lucius? All I want is to find Draco, I need to talk to him." He didn't want to discuss his pregnancy right now, with very passing moment Draco was getting further and further away from him.

"I take it from that that you are." Lucius said contemplating the teenager before him with more interest now. Harry however really didn't have time for this.

"Look, I need to talk to him and if you know where he is I would appreciate it if you told me." Harry said getting extremely fed up with the way that Lucius was behaving. They were standing outside in the open with a locked and magically sealed gate between them so Harry really wasn't best pleased.

"Unfortunately Draco has left, he went this morning. He won't be back for three years. You're too late I'm afraid Potter."

At these words Harry felt a pain in his heart, however he wasn't done yet, he had a lot of fight left in him before he would give up. "Where has he gone then?"

"You expect me to tell you so that you can go there and distract him from his studies? I don't think so Potter, my son will have nothing more to do with you. As far as I am concerned whatever happened between the two of you never happened and those little brats growing inside of you have no relation to me, my son or this family, is that clear?"

"You can't tell me what to do, if I want to find him then I will, it doesn't matter how you feel about me Malfoy, I am carrying your grandchildren! Now please just tell me where he is."

"There isn't anything that you can say Potter I'm not going to tell you where he's gone, Draco is better off without you, he'll be getting married as soon as he comes home so don't think that you're going to have any reason to come back here again. You don't belong here Potter and you never will, Draco realised that the two of you weren't supposed to be together and he did what he had to do. It's just a shame that you didn't realise the same thing."

Harry was speechless and really didn't know what else there was to say to the older Malfoy who evidently wasn't going to give anything away and really didn't like Harry very much.

"I will find him" Harry said, determined.

Lucius said nothing, he turned away from Harry and began to walk away, back to his life. Harry couldn't have been more furious than he was at that moment, the magic that made up the person who Harry Potter was began to grow out of control. The gates that sealed Malfoy Manor closed burst open, the spells protecting the manor house broken at the strong burst of magic from Harry.

Lucius immediately turned round to face Harry, rage contorting his handsome aristocratic face. He couldn't quite believe what had just happened. He had known that the Gryffindor was magically powerful but this was something that he hadn't wanted to believe was possible.

"Damn it! Just tell me where he is!" Harry shouted at the blonde, Lucius looked taken aback by Harry's sudden anger.

"Draco is my son, I will protect him and right now I am protecting him from a life of poverty and hardship. He will not marry you and if he does then he will be disowned from the family. Do you really want to be the cause of that Potter? Do you really want to be the cause of Draco losing his family?"

"No" Harry said feeling his fury deflate like a balloon, he knew that what Lucius said was true, he couldn't be the cause of Draco losing his family, he knew how much it meant to him. He was after all following his fathers dream by furthering his education and no doubt he would follow his fathers dream by marrying a suitable pure blood and living out his life with that person.

All Harry knew was that he wouldn't be that person with whom Draco would be spending his life with. He had come here on a foolish whim with the idea that he might have his fairy tale ending that he had craved since he was a young boy trapped under the stairs at the house of his Aunt and Uncles house.

"You will never be any good for my son Potter, I am sorry but it's true, there are a million reasons why the two of you shouldn't be together." Lucius said trying to sound a little consoling however he had just said the wrong thing.

Harry looked up at him, his eyes glittering with revelation, "There may be a million reasons why Draco and I should never be together but there is one very good reason why we should be." Harry said, his determination returning. "I love your son and that makes it worth a shot no matter how much is working against us."

Lucius narrowed his eyes to slits and glared at Harry who was not in the least bit scared of the older Malfoy. "It still does not change anything Potter, I won't be telling you where he is."

"It doesn't matter, I'll find him with or without your help." Harry said smiling brightly at the older man right before he apparated back to house.

He had to steady himself against the railing outside his house when he arrived because his head had begun to spin when he had arrived. It took him a second to regain himself before he ran back inside. He rummaged through all of his stuff looking for something significant for both him and Draco.

Oliver came to see what Harry was doing as he ran frantically round the entire house, the two of them finally ended up in the nursery, Oliver watched curiously as Harry picked up a small comforter for a baby. Draco had picked it out especially for the children, of course it was one of a pair, like everything was in that room.

Harry transformed it into a port key that would activate as soon as Draco touched it and bring him directly to this room. Harry then, ignoring Oliver, took a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write a letter, explaining that if Draco felt anything then he would come back.

Once he had finished the port key was wrapped up and put in a box, the letter on top. He rushed past Oliver who was watching him confused and attached the small package to her leg.

"Okay girl, I need you to find Draco Malfoy." He said to his owl who had never let him down before, "Do you understand?" Hedwig hooted in response and took off through the open window.

Oliver however had heard the instruction that Harry had given to Hedwig and he really wasn't very happy. As Harry watched Hedwig fly off into the distance Oliver was watching him and the look on his face said that he really wasn't impressed with what Harry was doing.

"Harry, why are you sending him a port key?" Oliver asked directly, he wasn't much for beating round the bush.

"Because I've just realised something." Harry said honestly, "Oliver … I love him."

"Then why did you come after me?" Oliver demanded.

"I don't know Oliver … I think that I wanted to prove to him that I was okay without him. I'm carrying his children, I don't think that I'll ever be able to let him go, I don't know if I'll ever be ready to be in such an intimate relationship with anyone else until I've managed to make myself realise that Draco isn't going to come back into my life." Harry said trying to make his point perfectly clear to the now irritated Oliver Wood.

"You're an idiot Harry, you really are but if you love him I suppose that can't really be helped though I like you and I wish it were different, last night I thought that we'd maybe be together."

"I'm sorry Oliver, maybe if I hadn't realised how much I cared about Draco then we would have been but the problem is even if we were together do you really think that it would have worked with me being obsessed with another man and carrying his children?"

"Put like that probably not." Oliver said sadly and he actually half smiled at Harry even though it was obvious that he was a little hurt at being rejected.

"I'm really sorry Oliver, I truly am, you're a great guy but you're not the one I'm meant to end up with." Harry said truthfully.

"I'm sorry to hear that Harry I really am. Though I am worried about you, what with this whole thing about Draco and the fact that you have no wards on this house, you're getting careless." Oliver said.

"I suppose I am but now that Voldemort is gone I never thought about protecting myself, although I suppose that I should, if for no other reason than to stop Dumbledore coming and going as he pleases."

"He still comes to see you?"

"Occasionally" Harry said with a sigh, "Thank you Oliver." He said and hugged the older man who hugged him back.

"I guess I'll have to take off." Oliver said with a touch of regret in his voice, "You look after yourself Harry and keep in touch okay."

"I will Oliver, thank you."


	13. Chapter 13

A Million Reasons

Chapter Thirteen

Oliver left soon after leaving Harry to wait alone. That was all there was to do now, wait. He couldn't help but wonder whether Hedwig had reached Draco or not and if the Slytherin had decided if he would come or not.

Harry didn't know how long he would wait, he knew that he couldn't wait for Draco forever however much that he wanted to. He sat in the nursery and he waited there because that was where Draco would appear if he activated the port key.

Draco had received the package and read the letter within and was now in two minds about what he was going to do. He had enrolled on this course because it was what his father wanted him to. However he didn't want this, he wanted more than anything to be with Harry even though that impulse hadn't been too clear.

The problem was he was now being asked to choose between his family and the one man that he thought that he might love. His heart wanted him to do one thing and his common sense was screaming at him to do what was right. The thing that he had to ask himself was did he want to end up married to someone who he had no feelings towards in a job that he hated.

Draco knew that generations of the Malfoy family had done exactly that, they had done what was expected of him and yet he wasn't sure as if he could do it. He sat contemplating what he should do, his heart wanted him to be with Harry but he knew that his family should come first.

He didn't know what to do anymore, he didn't know what to decide. He knew what was right and he knew what he wanted it was just a shame that the two of them didn't coincide with each other.

Here he was fulfilling his fathers dream, studying to become a Potions Master, it would take him three years of in-depth non-stop studying to achieve it and he knew that if he wanted it then he'd be able to do it but this wasn't what he was passionate about. Of course he had always enjoyed Potions but he didn't really fancy it as a career.

He didn't know what his father would say if he quit now, he'd never be able to come back to the programme if he left it now that was for sure. As he sat there contemplating what choice he was to make he though of Harry who was no doubt sitting and thinking just as he was, wondering if he'd show up or not. His Harry, the one who he'd seen dancing with Oliver Wood and got insanely jealous, he had never been that jealous over anyone before.

They weren't even dating a part of him said that Harry was his, he knew there was so much against them but wasn't that true of every couple, there wasn't a couple in the world who hadn't had to overcome some form of obstacle. Harry was pregnant with twins and he knew exactly what he wanted, or at least he did now, it had taken some time to figure it out. All that was left was for Draco to decide what he wanted.

On one hand there was his family and on the other hand there was Harry, he knew what he wanted, what his heart desired but he knew his father all too well, he didn't think that he could handle being cut off from his family and he knew that that would be exactly what would happen if he chose to live with Harry. However as Draco thought of this a small voice in his head said that it wouldn't matter because in nine months time he would be starting his own family with Harry.

That made him stop and think. He'd be losing one family that was true enough however he would be gaining something more, he'd be gaining the love of a man and two children that were his own flesh and blood, children that were growing inside of Harry at this very moment.

Suddenly it was an easy choice to make. It always had been Draco had just been so scared of what losing his family name and his fathers approval, not to mention to wealth could mean for him but he had realised that Harry didn't love him for any of that and when it came down to his happiness it really didn't matter either way.

Draco stood up with a sudden determination and grabbed the still wrapped package, he hesitated for only a second before ripping the paper off the port key. His touch activated Harry's magic and he was whisked away with the tug at his navel.

Harry was sat curled up in his rocker in the corner of the nursery dozing, too afraid to fall asleep just in case Draco arrived and he missed it. One hand was resting on his stomach and he was thinking about the life within.

A thump startled Harry into full alert and he withdrew his wand, "Lumos" he cried and a bright light filled the darkened room. There in the middle of the floor was one Draco Malfoy clutching at the comforter that Harry had used for a port key.

He was so shocked to see the other wizard there that he could hardly believe what it was that he was seeing. "Draco?" He asked hesitantly.

The blonde looked up at him and smiled, getting to his feet he threw his arms around the Gryffindor and hugged him. Relief washed over both of them as they held each other. Harry couldn't believe that Draco was actually there and had gone against his father to be here, he was so happy that he finally had Draco in his arms.

A moment later they were kissing and that was all that mattered, hands frantically ran all over each others body feverishly undressing each other with the need to be closer to one another. They fell to the floor, Draco pinning Harry with his body as they kissed feverishly.

Their clothes were literally torn from each others bodies with frustration, Draco began to trail kisses down Harry's neck, biting and sucking, leaving marks to make sure that everyone knew that the Gryffindor was his and no one else's. After all Draco Malfoy was a possessive idiot at the best of times. Harry Potter was now his property and he was stating his claim right now.

Harry was gasping and moaning for all that he was worth as Draco made his way towards his groin that was stiffening with every kiss and caress. Harry didn't know how it was that Draco had become so talented in giving blow jobs but Harry was in pure heaven as the Slytherin took him into his mouth and the Gryffindor became lost in whatever Draco's tongue was doing.

Right before Harry had been about to come Draco stopped and shifted himself so that he could slip two fingers inside of his lover to stretch him and prepare him for what was to come, as he did this Harry began to stroke Draco's impressive erection.

The blonde had to stop him rather hastily because otherwise neither were going to last very long, Draco positioned himself at Harry's entrance and looked down at his Gryffindor, they were both gasping for breathe, their chests rising and falling in quick succession, their sweat mingled together and Draco's muscles trembled with the effort of holding himself up.

The moment before he entered him Draco leaned down and began to kiss his partner, he then pushed himself into Harry carefully and slowly. The expression of pure pleasure on the Gryffindor's face was enough to encourage Draco to continue, moving himself in and out, making each thrust deeper.

Neither lasted for long, Harry came first, spilling his seed all over his and Draco's chests that was already slick with sweat. Moments after Harry's release Draco reached his own before withdrawing himself from his lover and collapsing breathless beside him on the floor of the nursery.

Harry couldn't quite believe what they had just done and on the floor of their children's room as well. It didn't matter though, not now that Draco was here and Harry could hardly believe that he was. A small part of him had doubted that he would have shown up at all.

While the two men frolicked together on the floor of the nursery Lucius Malfoy received an owl informing him of Draco's withdrawal from the Potion's course and believe me when I say that he was raging mad. Lucius knew exactly who to blame for this as well. He may not have known where to find Harry but he knew someone who always knew everything especially when it came to the boy who lived.

Lucius Malfoy set of in search of Albus Dumbledore who was notoriously easier to locate than Harry Potter. He was currently having very horrid thoughts about what he was going to do to that boy once he found him, he refused to believe that the boy-who-lived would ruin his only sons life.

Harry and Draco meanwhile were blissfully unaware of what was about to happen and were lying happily in each others arms. Harry was using Draco's chest as a pillow, listening to his heartbeat as he dozed. So far they hadn't spoken a word to each other because neither had known what to say to the other however Harry had a question and he couldn't avoid asking it any longer.

"Does this mean that you're staying?"

Draco thought about this for a second, "I think so" He said, "I want to" Then he hesitated for a moment more, "It won't be easy."

"I know." Harry said and he smiled up at the blonde who leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips. Both of them knew that it wasn't going to be easy, they had nine months to build a strong relationship so that they could raise their two children as well as possible. What they didn't know that the repercussions of Draco's choice were about to come knocking on Harry's front door.

Harry hadn't wanted to put up any wards until Draco had arrived or he had been one hundred percent sure that he wouldn't be coming. Oliver had made a great point in that he should have put wards around his home, however he had wanted to live a normal life and having to live life so cautiously just wasn't normal.

The problem was that he was still Harry Potter, normal shouldn't have been in his vocabulary because he would never have that normal. He may have won the heart of his ideal prince charming however that didn't mean that his life was going to be a happily ever after. In fact far from it because just as they were about to fall into a deep sleep Lucius and Albus strolled up the garden path and began pounding on the front door.


	14. Chapter 14

A Million Reasons

Chapter fourteen

Harry and Draco were roused from their slumber by pounding on the front door which startled them both enough to be terrified.

"Expecting company babe?" Draco asked Harry as he pulled on his boxers and reached for his wand, Harry shook his head in the negative as he did the same. He may not have been expecting company but he had a pretty good idea who it could be.

"It's probably Dumbledore, he hasn't been round since the second article thank goodness but I knew that that was too good to be true. You wait here Dray, I won't be long."

"Like hell I'm waiting here" Draco said as he pulled on his jeans and followed Harry out of the door admiring the fact that Harry felt confident enough to confront whoever it was at the door in nothing more than a pair of boxers and a fluffy pink bathrobe.

Putting the latch on the door he then opened it to see not one annoyed looking wizard but two. He really was regretting the whole no wards thing and made a mental note to put them in place the next morning after a good nights sleep.

"Do you know what the time is?" Harry asked them peering though the small opening a the two wizards, one of whom looked angry enough to kill him, a fact that he registered.

"I am well aware of the time Harry, now may we come inside?" Dumbledore asked politely.

"Um, no, you can't, I was sleeping, I'd like to get back to that." Harry said.

"Where is my son Potter?" Lucius asked, of course he couldn't see the young blonde who was standing behind the door out of sight, they could only see a barely dressed Harry Potter.

"Why do you just assume he's here?" Harry asked trying to be sly however this time it wasn't going to work as well.

"Firstly Harry I'd like to point out that you have some give away marks on your neck and secondly you stink quiet strongly of sex, so please do not waste our time, allow us inside please."

"No, your points are not valid, Oliver is here, Draco and I have broken up as you both well know, now if you please I'd like to go back to my bed and my boyfriend."

"Don't like to me Harry, we just want to talk, nothing more, if Draco truly wants to stay with you then we cannot force him otherwise he is legally of age in the wizarding world but Lucius wants to talk to his son."

"Well, that's real interesting and all but Draco isn't here, if he wanted to talk to Oliver then I'd be able to help you but as it is I really can't. Now if you don't mind I'd very much like to go back to bed." Harry said sternly, he really wasn't about to let them inside. "Maybe if you come back tomorrow morning I'll talk to you then but until then I'm going to say goodnight to the both of you."

Harry then shut the door before either Albus or Lucius could say anything further. He really was not in the mood for the two men this late on in the evening, he had just had the greatest sex in his life and now he wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed with Draco and go to sleep.

Harry pressed his fingers to his lips to show Draco that they had to be quite and motioned for him to go upstairs, the blonde nodded and did as he was told. He didn't want to deal with his father and Dumbledore any more than Harry did.

The next morning Draco awoke first, he was lying in bed with his arms wrapped possessively around Harry who was snuggled up to him and still sleeping peacefully. He took a moment to appreciate the brunette who was now his boyfriend whether he knew that fact or not.

However the struggle wasn't over just yet, Draco knew that deciding to be with Harry rather than do what his family wanted him to do would have many consequences and they were only just beginning. No doubt his father would be back soon and he wouldn't stop until he had got what he had wanted.

Draco groaned and began to separate himself from the sleeping Gryffindor who was beginning to stir. "Where you going?" Harry mumbled half asleep his eyes still closed.

"To have a shower" Draco said placing a kiss to Harry's lips as his eyes slowly opened.

"Too early, come back to bed."

"If I know my father he'll be back soon."

"Does that mean you're leaving?" Harry asked sitting up suddenly very awake.

"No!" Draco said at once, "I just want to have a shower and get dressed that's all, I'm never going anywhere again, I promise." Draco said sitting back down on the bed and taking Harry's hand in his own.

"What about the life that you wanted to lead? You wanted to do so much Draco." Harry said and he knew that he shouldn't be testing something that was still so fragile but he couldn't help it, he needed to be sure that what Draco was saying was the truth and that he wasn't just going to leave and hurt him all over again.

"The only life I want now is with you Harry okay, I'll stay with you and our children, not because it is the right thing to do but because it is what I want with all my heart."

"Do you love me Draco?" Harry asked, "Because I think that I love you and I need to know if you feel the same about me."

"I love you Harry, don't worry, I swear to you that I'm not going anywhere." Draco reassured and Harry hugged him, holding him close and inhaling the smell of sweat and sex that lingered on his body.

It was an hour later when both men were up and dressed that Dumbledore and Lucius returned and by this point Harry and Draco knew exactly how they were going to handle them. Harry let them in and showed them into the kitchen while Draco boiled the kettle.

"Good Morning Albus, Dad." Draco said as he made four cups of decafe coffee for them all. He received only curt nods in return, the atmosphere was immediately tense when everyone was sat at the table.

No one knew quite what to say, Harry and Draco only had a vague idea about why Dumbledore and Lucius were there, the headmaster thought his role in these proceedings to be more referee and witness rather than anything else and Lucius was seething and wanted to get to the bottom of this.

"Is this your choice then Draco? Are you choosing Harry Potter over your family?" Lucius asked ignoring the mug of steaming liquid in front of him.

"He is carrying my children Dad, I love him. I know that I should do what is right by my family and that is what I'm doing, Harry and the twins are my family now Dad."

"Those children are an abomination! They are illegitimate bastards!"

"How dare you Dad, what does it matter if Harry and I aren't married? This isn't the Tudor age, what does it matter if we're married or not?" Draco said in outrage against his father.

"I think that we should all calm down." Dumbledore said trying to keep his cool, Harry was watching him suspiciously, he knew the headmaster all too well, he was up to something, even if that something wasn't that clear just yet.

"Albus may I ask you a question before we go any further." Harry said even though he wasn't really asking for permission, he would be asking this whether Dumbledore wanted him to or not. The headmaster motioned for Harry to continue so he did. "It's a couple of question actually, firstly how come you're helping Mr Malfoy here and secondly I want to know who it is that keeps blabbing to the Prophet about my private life." Harry said giving the headmaster a very pointed glare as he was sure that he was somewhat involved in the whole thing.

Harry was overly sure that the headmaster had found a way to get past the unbreakable vow. He just couldn't quite figure out how he had managed to do it. Draco switched his attention from his father to the elderly headmaster and glared at him. The unbreakable vow had specifically said that they couldn't tell the secret and Harry couldn't really think about how Dumbledore could have found a loop hole in that.

"I don't know what you're talking about Harry, Lucius came to me because he was concerned about his son and knew that I would know where you were. As for the culprit leaking stories to the Prophet, I have no idea."

"Don't lie to me Dumbledore! I know that you know exactly who is blabbing to the Prophet and I think that they had some help from you but I don't know exactly how. Also I would every much like to know exactly how you knew where I was because I only told three people. Ron, Hermione and Draco."

"Then perhaps you need to take it up with your friends." Dumbledore said rather mysteriously.

"What do you mean, take it up with my friends? I'm not going to accuse them of talking to the Prophet, I trust them." Harry said defiantly.

"You will not accuse them but you accuse me." Dumbledore stated plainly.

"Yeah because you're a conniving bastard who'd find a loop hole in the unbreakable vow just because you could and make my life hell because I don't want you in it anymore."

"Babe, calm down, please, it isn't good for you to be so stressed out, think of the children," Draco said taking Harry's hand within his own and giving it a light squeeze.

"Draco Malfoy, when I get up from this table and walk out of the front door you will either be the rightful heir to the Malfoy name and fortune, which means leaving this whore and his illegitimate brats or you will be disowned from the family and be a disgrace to the name of wizard." Lucius Malfoy said to his son, he had had enough of the issues between the headmaster and the boy-who-lived.

"Then you're going to have to disown me dad, I was unsure for such a long time and it hurt Harry that I didn't know what I wanted to do when it came down to him and the twins but I know that this is where I want to be. I'm still going to do all the things that I've always wanted to do but I'll be doing them with Harry and our children by my side. Everything you wanted for me dad was amazing but it wasn't what I wanted." Draco said keeping a hold of Harry's hand as he spoke, Harry now comforting him.

"Generations of our family have lived in the way that we have lived, no proud member of our family has ever married for love! To take that path is to chose someone unworthy and that … creature, is unworthy!" Lucius said, letting his calm exterior slip away and allowing his rage to show through.

Draco stood up in outrage, his chair falling backwards and hitting the floor with a resounding crash. "If Harry Potter is unworthy dad then there is no one worthy enough to be a part of this family! You have no right to pass judgement on anyone, not with your past!"

Lucius too stood looking furious at his only son, Dumbledore and Harry watching the exchange nervously. "Then you are no son of mine!" Lucius shouted, he then reached inside his robes and withdrew his wand. Harry had half been expecting this and had already drawn his wand and had it pointed at the older Malfoy. Draco hadn't been as quick and didn't reach his own wand in time.

"Lower your wand!" Harry demanded.

"Cru …"

"NO" Harry said cutting him off, "Expelliarmus!" He wasn't going to have anyone hurt Draco while he was there. Harry tended to be very protective of the people that were in his heart and right now Lucius Malfoy was trying to hurt Draco.

Lucius' wand flew out of his hand before he had even finished his spell and Harry caught it. In spur of the moment decision Harry broke the thin piece of wood, snapping it in half with hardly any effort at all.

Dumbledore winced and Lucius Malfoy tensed up with fury before launching himself at Harry in a very undignified manor. Draco however was ready for this move, he withdrew his wand and shouted: "Impedimenta!"

Lucius flew backwards into the far wall, his head and slid to the floor unconscious but lacking any serious injuries. Harry turned to Dumbledore giving him a challenging look, his wand was still drawn, the remains of Lucius' wand left forgotten on the floor.

"Now, Albus, tell me why it is that the Prophet knows all about my private life and I want you to tell me the truth because I can do all sorts of things to you that are perfectly legal if you don't." Harry said angrily. "And don't even try to disapperated, you can't, I may not have put my wards up yet but there are a few spells on this house."

"I don't know what you expect me to tell you Harry, after all I made the unbreakable vow to you that I wouldn't say anything to anyone."

"I expect you to tell me everything that you do know including why you suggested to me that it might be Ron and Hermione that were leaking all these stories to the Prophet."

As Harry was threatening Dumbledore, Draco picked up his fathers wand and put it in Lucius' pocket before levitating him into the fireplace and flooing him back to Malfoy Manor which dealt with one of the problems that they had, at least for the time being.

"I know that it is Ron that has been selling the stories to the Prophet, he is struggling to find a job currently and even though you were considerate enough to purchase the house for him and Hermione they are struggling to provide for themselves, he was too ashamed to ask you for money so he went to the Prophet." Dumbledore said very calmly, he had remained sitting down through all of it and now sat as casually as ever.

Harry gritted his teeth, his hand clenching his wand tightly in anger, a vase on the mantelpiece shattered quite suddenly causing Draco to jump and duck because he thought that they were under attack. It took him a second to realise that it was actually Harry's magic getting out of control.

"I think you should leave" Draco said to the headmaster, he knew full well that if Dumbledore didn't leave very soon then the situation was going to get a lot worse.

"No, I want to know how he knows that it was Ron and I want to know how he knew where I was living!" Harry said, he didn't turn to look at Draco, he kept his eyes firmly on the headmasters. He could feel that Albus was trying to get into his head and he had never been too good at stopping that but he was angry enough to force the old man back out of his mind.

"Ron told me where you were living, he was concerned for you and thought that I should know where you were. He doesn't seem to like the fact that you and Draco are together, this is also how I know that it was him that gave the exclusive interviews to the Prophet."

Cracks started to appear in the windows and the floorboards beneath their feet began to shift and shake as Harry's anger grew, he wouldn't say that he wasn't absolutely terrified by this but he knew that Harry had to be stopped.

"Harry, babe, you have to calm down, think of the children." Draco said going to his lover and embracing him from behind while making eye contact with the headmaster and motioning for him to get out.

As Draco wound his arms around Harry's waist the magic that filled the room began to settle and Dumbledore stood up from the dinning table as if nothing was wrong, bid farewell to both young men and headed for the front door. Harry's wand lowered and his breaths became regular as he calmed himself.

They remained in that position for a long while, Harry was still pretty worked up and Draco didn't want him to lose control like that again. It was pretty scary when a wizard as powerful as Harry began to loose control.

In a split second Harry had gone from a strong and capable of coping to the complete opposite. Despite Draco's embrace he fell to the floor and began to cry, the knowledge that Ron, his best friend for seven adventure filled years had betrayed his trust. He had thought that he wouldn't have had to use the unbreakable vows with his best friends apparently he was wrong.

As Harry sat on the floor crying there was a knock on the door, Draco who was sitting beside him, holding him, cursed at the fact that this moment was about to be intruded on. He got up and went to see who it was.


	15. Chapter 15

A Million Reasons

Chapter fifteen

Draco left Harry sitting on the dinning room floor, he made his way to the front door with every intention of telling whoever was there to take a flying fuck off the nearest cliff. However he wasn't expecting to see his Godfather, Severus Snape, standing on the doorstep.

"Severus, what are you doing here?" Draco asked confused, "How did you find us here?"

"I came to check up on Harry, after everything that's being said in the papers I wanted to see how he was coping, I know he doesn't like fame very much and this must be difficult now that he's pregnant." Severus said simply.

"Am I missing something here? You've never cared for Harry that much before now, why do you suddenly care so much about how he's coping?" 

"Because I am partly responsible for the pregnancy, though I must say that I am surprised to see you here Draco, I didn't think that you would stick with Harry, in fact I thought you had a position at the same three year potions camp that I did."

"I did, I chose Harry." Draco said with a smile.

"Does you're father know this?"

"Oh yes, he's already disowned me this morning." Draco said with a very fake smile.

"Ah, I see." Severus said grimly.

"Severus, what are you doing here?" Harry asked suddenly appearing in the hall way, he had wiped his eyes and although he still looked pretty shaken he also had a look of determination on his face.

"I came to see how it is that you were fairing, however I see now that Draco is taking care of you. Poppy also wanted me to pass on the message that she would like to see you for a check up if that's possible."

"I'll think about it, sorry I forgot my manors in all this hostility come in, would you like something to drink?" Harry asked motioning that they should come through to the kitchen.

"You're quite alright Harry, I assure you I didn't intend to stay for long, I am sure that Draco will take good care of you and that I have nothing to worry about." Severus said and for the first time that Harry could remember he saw the potions professor smile. "If you ever need someone, either of you, you know where to find me, and Harry, if you won't go to Poppy, perhaps it'll be worth a moment of your time to arrange with her that she comes to you."

"Thank you professor, I will do, I doubt that I'll be welcome at Hogwarts much longer and she is the only one I trust enough to tend to my children." Harry said, "After all she's been mending my broken bones since I was eleven."

"How true, I will bid the two of you a good day and excuse myself. It was great to see you both." Severus said and he left. The surprised visit from the professor had come as a shock to both young men but it showed that he would be on their side and that he gave them his blessings.

Once the Potions Master had gone Harry had decided what it was that he had to do. With Draco by his side he would be going to see Ron and Hermione, he knew that by confronting them he was playing right into the hands of the deceitful headmaster however if he didn't then it was likely that he would always be wondering.

"I have to go and talk to them Draco" Harry said and Draco nodded, he understood what his boyfriend meant without even asking, "I want you to come with me."

"Are you sure? Your friends don't really like me that much, I'm pretty sure that I offended them." Draco said hesitantly.

"Well they don't generally approve of punching people." Harry said with a smile, "But if Oliver can get over it I'm sure they can grit their teeth, I want you there."

"Then I will be, I'm not going anywhere Harry, I swear to you." Draco said and then after a second he added, "Your not going to be seeing Oliver any time are you?"

"I doubt it, why?" Harry asked as he grabbed a pair of trainers and shoved his feet into them, he was determined to get this over with, he needed to deal with his supposed best friends.

"I don't want to have to punch him again." Draco said very seriously.

"You really are the possessive type aren't you sweety." Harry said with affection as he smiled at his blonde boyfriend.

"I can't help it, you're so gorgeous." Draco said taking hold of Harry's waist and pulling him into a passionate kiss.

"Are you trying to make me want to drag you upstairs again?"

"You mean you don't want to anyway?" Draco asked sounding mock hurt and pouting at his boyfriend who only laughed at the immaturity.

"Always" He said and they kissed again, "But if I don't do this now then I'll never do it." Harry said and Draco nodded to show that he understood.

"Then I'm right behind you, lead the way." Draco said and as Harry headed to the front door Draco squeezed his boyfriends arse causing the Gryffindor to jump in surprise and turn around, only to find that he was face to face with a very satisfied looking Draco Malfoy.

"Okay, maybe we can go and see Ron and Hermione later." Harry said as Draco ran his hand down his chest and began to work on undoing the button holding Harry's jeans up.

"I like that choice." Draco said as he began to kiss Harry once more.

"Upstairs!" Harry gasped as Draco began to suck and nibble affectionately at his boyfriends neck. The blonde picked Harry up by the waist and the Gryffindor wrapped his legs around the Slytherin so he could be carried up the stairs.

Even with the impending argument that had to happen between him and his two best friends he still couldn't help but get completely lost in the sensation that was Draco Malfoy. He certainly had a way with his tongue and his fingers.

As Draco and Harry lay in bed making love to one another the wizarding world was in complete uproar against the behaviour of the boy-who-lived. Gossip had spread fast through the wizarding world about his pregnancy and his relationship with Draco Malfoy, a surname that was connected with many a dark memory.

It was a scandal that their saviour was involved with someone that was connected to the deatheater's in any way. The wizarding world was sure that this was some elaborate scheme to hurt Harry and the children that he carried.

The world was not yet completely rid of deatheater's, this was a well known fact, but none had so far resurfaced to enact revenge upon Harry. It was Harry's choice in boyfriend that made Draco the prime suspect to be one of those undercover deatheater's in many people's eyes. Neither Harry nor Draco knew how the world was reacting to the articles in the Prophet as they had chosen to shy away from the wizarding world.

The problem was the amongst those people that were reading the progress of Harry's relationship with Draco Malfoy because they were nosey and had boring little lives themselves were people reading about the private life of the boy-who-lived so they could gather tips on ways to best hurt him.

Harry's love had always been his greatest strength, he had loved Ron and Hermione and they had never left his side for seven years no matter what got thrown their way. However the kind of love that you have for a boyfriend and children was something completely different than the love you would have for a friend.

Harry Potter had never had more perfect a weakness as two young children unable to defend themselves and an over protective boyfriend who was reckless and impulsive when it came to Harry.

The deatheater's couldn't believe their luck when they had read this news, finally they had a way to get to Harry Potter, Voldemort may have been dead but the people who had followed his cause and had supported his ideas were not gone yet. They bided their time, waiting for the moment that the children were born so that they could take them. Voldemort had never figured out that there were worst things in the world than death. His deatheater's had figured it out and one in particular knew how painful it was to lose a child. He wanted to make Harry suffer as he was now suffering.

"That was … wow" Harry said completely breathless as Draco rolled off of him and collapsed back on the bed sweaty and out of breath. Neither of them knew the danger in which they would soon be facing, they were too wrapped up in one another to really be bothered by what was going on around them.

Draco traced patterns across Harry's taut, flat stomach with his finger while resting his head on his chest, listening to the rhythmic beating of his brave Gryffindor heart. All Draco could think was that just underneath his fingers was something that he and Harry had both created together, even if they hadn't loved each other at that moment they had reached that point very quickly.

Here they were, not even a full week into their relationship and they would be having two children and they were living together. Everything had happened so fast between them and they were hardly dealing with everything well. The situation that they found themselves in was hardly ideal but Draco was sure that he was in love with Harry, he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

"Draco …"

"Yes baby"

"I love you, you know that right."

"Yeah, I love you too."

Draco tilted his head up and Harry captured his lips in a lazy kiss, both of them were exhausted from hours of delicious sex and wanted nothing more than to just lie there in each others embrace for hours on end. However Draco had other plans, his fingers continued to trace intricate patterns across Harry's abdomen, getting lower with each sweeping movement of his fingers.

Harry moaned as Draco finally reached his half erect penis, he wrapped his fingers around it and gripped it before he began to stroke while beginning to suck on one of Harry's nipples.

"Draco …" Harry gasped right before he was about to come, his eyes were closed and his head was tilting back, his back slightly arched as Draco continued to stroke despite Harry's warning. The blonde's movements became faster and Harry couldn't last any longer, he came all over the bed sheets.

Draco took his wand and muttered the cleaning incantation and the mess vanished. Harry had been watching him with lust filled eyes and as soon as Draco was lying back down on the bed Harry began to kiss his way down his boyfriend's chest.

Draco's penis was already rising from the attention Harry was giving him, he took the erect member into his mouth and sucked while using his tongue to cause Draco to buck beneath him and grip the duvet as he cried out with pleasure.

Draco came in Harry's mouth before he could even gather himself together enough to shout a warning. He swallowed and then went to kiss his lover who could then taste himself in Harry's mouth as their tongues met.

The taste of him as he kissed Harry only excited Draco more, he deepened the kiss and pushed Harry back onto the bed and then settled himself between the brunettes legs as he settled into a rhythm with his hips and tongue.

Harry scraped his nails down Draco's back as he bucked his hips upwards telling Draco that he wanted him inside of him again. The hormones coursing through Harry's body because of the babies made him nothing short of a sex maniac.

He craved the feel of Draco inside of him, he wanted nothing more than to be with him all the time, lying in bed together, kissing, having sex and cuddling. At that moment there was nothing that either of them wanted more than to just be right where they were with one another forever. Nothing else existed other than them and them alone.

Harry knew that he had to go and confront Ron about the fact that his personal business kept making it to the front page of the Daily Prophet but having Draco around effectively distracted him well enough so that he didn't have to think about it too much. The thought that his best friends might have sold out to the papers was not exactly a nice thought to be thinking about.

Draco was a little worried about what his father might do, after all Lucius was not the kind of man to just let things lie, he would disown him that was for certain but he doubted that he would leave it at that. Draco knew exactly what his father was capable of and he didn't want to get Harry or the children hurt.

He would just have to wait and see what would happen, there wasn't any way that they could predict the future, Harry sure wasn't a believer in the crystal ball or indeed any form of divination. They would just have to wait and experience it for themselves without magical aids. What Draco hoped was that they would be able to deal with any problems that arose when it came to it and that they would be able to do it together.

He felt so much stronger and more confident when he was with Harry and just lying in bed with him, making love to him was the most important thing in the world right now, nothing else could have possibly come close to how he was feeling. He could hardly believe that he had thought that anything else could possibly compare to being with Harry like this.

He knew that he had upset a lot of people making the choice that he did, his parents included but he didn't regret choosing Harry because by doing so he had gained a loving boyfriend who he could cherish and along with that two babies that were a part of him and also a part of Harry.

Draco couldn't wait to be a father and even though the entire thing seemed a little surreal to him he loved the idea of it. He knew that it would sink in a little more once Harry started to show the usual signs but until then it just didn't seem as if it was happening. Is stomach was just as flat and muscled as it always had been, no change there. It was a little weird to think that there was life growing there.

Draco continued to make love to Harry all throughout the day, it was a day that both of them needed to cool down and think about everything that had happened and could potentially happen over the next few days. There was potential for a lot of disaster when Harry confronted Ron and as for the headmaster, he had to be dealt with as well.

Not only that but Draco knew that he would have to keep a close watch on his father as well to ensure that he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. Draco wouldn't put it past his father to enact some form of revenge on Harry because of the choice that Draco had made, the problem was that neither had taken into account that the two children to be born in nine months time would be their weakness.


	16. Chapter 16

A Million Reasons

Chapter sixteen

Neither Draco nor Harry wanted to get up and out of bed the next morning, even spending all day and night in bed had not sated their need for one another. Well it hadn't for Harry, Draco was absolutely shattered and come eleven the next morning he groaned as a very awake Harry began to kiss his way down his chest.

"Morning sweety," Harry said coming back level with Draco and kissing him passionately on the lips, morning breath and all.

"Babe, your breath stinks." Draco said teasingly.

"Well yours isn't exactly fantastic either." Harry said and he kissed the irate blonde again. Draco very clearly was not a morning person.

"Come on, lets head to the bathroom and freshen up." Draco said, "Then I am dying for some coffee … have you got any that isn't decaf?"

"I wish, I'd do anything for caffeinated coffee but its bad for the babies, you'll have to make do with decaf for the moment unless you wanna go to the corner shop down the road and get some." Harry said as he swung his legs out of bed and grabbed a pair of sweat pants from the floor and slid them on.

Harry didn't intend for either of them to be dressed for a while, coffee, food and freshening up was just a temporary delay, he planed for them to be both back in bed within two hours.

He knew that there were other things that he should have been doing instead, like yelling at Ron and possibly Hermione too for the invasion to his privacy but Draco had been right the stress wasn't good for the babies or him. His body was already going through a huge change that it shouldn't have been possible for it to go to, it relied very heavily on magic to work and if he lost control of his magic again then he didn't want to think about what might happen.

Poppy had said that he shouldn't be using a lot of magic while he was pregnant and he didn't know a way to use more magic than losing control like that. He was already overprotective of his two unborn children, he didn't want to risk anything happening to them.

In reality Harry knew that it was a form of procrastination, there wasn't any way that he wanted to talk to Ron and Hermione, it seemed like such a chore and he knew that one of the possible outcomes from the conversation/argument was that he might lose two of his best friends.

If that happened then he knew that he would still have Draco but that wasn't the same as having two best friends, he knew that Draco would always be there and that they would share so much, especially with the children on the way, however there were certain things that only a best friend could deal with. Plus they had been friends since they were eleven years old, they had remained together through thick and thin, they had been there at the final battle when Voldemort had fallen.

The fact that they had survived and that they were still together was something to be proud of, it was ironic that it was finally breaking down when there wasn't any stress between them. Maybe the friendship that they had had was based on adventures and excitement but now that was all gone there was nothing left.

Harry didn't want to lose Ron and Hermione as friends but if Ron had betrayed him to such an extent then he didn't think that he would ever be able to forgive him. Publicity was one thing that he detested above all else and if Ron was helping them get personal information then Harry couldn't see himself ever forgiving him.

"You know you should really go and speak to your friends today." Draco said as he poured himself a mug of Harry's decaffeinated coffee, deciding that they needed to get actual coffee before too long otherwise he wasn't going to be functioning properly.

"I thought we could procrastinate some more." Harry said smiling and Draco couldn't say that he wasn't tempted by this because watching Harry walk around wearing only baggy sweat pants was certainly a turn on.

"I know it was my idea to procrastinate yesterday but you have to do it, you can't keep putting it off and the sooner you do it the better. If you lose control of your magic its better that you do it earlier than later because of the pregnancy."

"I guess you're right, its just that I don't want to find out that Ron betrayed me, he's always known that I've hated my business being in the papers but Dumbledore was right about that at least, him and Hermione are the only ones that could have told without dying."

"But you have to take into account that Dumbledore is a conniving arse. Don't be too judgemental on you're friends until you know if Dumbledore really is telling you the truth. Right now you don't have any proof, you don't want to lose your friends unnecessarily." Draco said wisely.

"I know, I don't want to think badly of them but Hermione did go behind my back and tell you, as good as that turned out she still did it even though I expressed a wish for it not to happen. I just assume that I can trust them because we've been friends for seven years but just because we've been friends for so long doesn't mean that we should stay being friends."

"That is also very true, just be careful okay." Draco said getting up and going round to Harry, placing a sweet kiss on Harry's lips that he then deepened and before they knew it Harry was removing Draco's t-shirt and of course the blonde wasn't doing anything to stop him.

He had truly underestimated how good Harry had looked in his baggy sweat pants, it was because of the fact that he was topless mainly and he did tend to look good when he wasn't wearing much.

Draco straddled Harry while he still remained sitting on the dinning chair, making sure that they continued kissing one another. Harry wasn't going to object to this, it meant that he could put off going to see Ron and Hermione a little longer and enjoy whatever it was that Draco was currently doing with his tongue.

However that was only if no one chose to disturb them and of course someone chose to disturb them. As soon as they heard a knock sound on the front door both of them groaned. Draco stopped kissing Harry and placed his head on the brunettes shoulder in frustration and Harry understood completely, they were both equally hard and very uncomfortable because of it.

"I say we put spells on the door that mean that anyone who considers knocking gets suddenly very confused and cannot remember why and then walks away." Harry said, his hands resting on Draco's hips.

"Or we could move" Draco said looking up from Harry's shoulder and meeting his eyes.

"Why would we want to do that, we have everything here." Harry said as whoever it was at the front door knocked again and they heard a voice shouting through to them informing them that it was Ron and Hermione, it didn't make either of them any keener on letting them in.

"Go and let you're friends in, we can talk about this later babe." Draco said sounding a little sorry that he had brought it up. He knew that Harry loved this little house in this muggle town but he didn't feel as if they got any privacy. What with how many people had knocked on the front door recently he was seriously considering taking Harry and making a run for it to somewhere where no one knew who they were and where no one would bother them. Of course that would be very far away but Draco was willing to go the distance.

"Okay" Harry said rather reluctantly as Draco slid off his lap, both of the young men thinking unattractive thoughts, mainly about a naked Dumbledore and Minerva, to make their erections a little less noticeable.

Harry stumbled to the door hurriedly so to let his friends in. The opened the door and saw that the two of them looked a little irritable. He knew that he hadn't seen them since their house party but that was no reason for them to look so grumpy. He did realise however that they were unaware of the fact that him and Draco were now a couple.

"Umm, hey guys, what's up?" Harry asked stepping aside so he could let them inside. They entered without saying anything and waited in the hallway while Harry closed the door. "Sorry I haven't been round in a while, it's been a little hectic here visitor wise." Harry said trying to break the ice.

"It's alright, we were just a little concerned about you is all, we're worried about the fact that we saw Dumbledore, Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape coming and going recently, I thought that you were trying not to get involved with things like that anymore and if you were I thought that you might get us involved as well so that we could help you out." Hermione said and at once Harry was really confused.

"I don't understand what you mean Mione." Harry said trying to replay what she had said in her mind as he couldn't quite figure it out.

"The missing boys, you're going to try and find them aren't you." Ron said sounding grave and as if he didn't approve at all but Harry hadn't known anything about two missing boys and he didn't know why they assumed that he would care.

"I really don't know what you're talking about, come on through and sit down, maybe then you can explain to me what's going on." Harry said trying to get things straight in his head and completely forgetting that Draco was sitting at the dinning table drinking decaffeinated coffee and reading the paper. He had also forgotten that Ron and Hermione were not expecting to see him there.

"Harry, what is he doing here?" Hermione asked sounding horrified at the fact that Draco Malfoy was in her presence.

"He's my boyfriend; sorry I didn't tell you guys, it just kinda happened. That was why Lucius Malfoy was here, there's a whole issue there that I won't go into, the short version is that he now lives here and is my boyfriend, now please take a seat, do you want anything to drink?"

Once everyone had a beverage of their own choice and were comfortably sat around the dinning room table Ron and Hermione set about explaining what they had been on about originally.

"Two wizards have been kidnapped, brothers, age nine and eleven." Hermione said, "It was reported in the Prophet, I thought that you would have seen it."

"No, I've been trying to avoid the Prophet to be honest, it's not exactly my favourite publication with everything that it's been printing recently." As Harry said this he looked directly at Ron who didn't show any sign of embarrassment. Now Harry knew his friend and if Ron was guilty of selling him out then he wouldn't have been able to hide it well.

"The thing is they were the subjects of a prophecy. Now no one really knows what the prophecy is about, the ministry is keeping it very hushed up. However I've been able to gather a few details and apparently it mentions Voldemort." At these words Harry looked at her, his face stern.

"But he's dead, why would there be a prophecy about him?" Harry asked, he could sense Draco getting very worried and tense by his side and he knew exactly what the blonde was thinking.

"That's exactly what I thought and I've been studying about the way that you killed him, destroying all the horcruxes and all. I don't see anyway that he could come back unless you missed one of the horcruxes but I was sure that we managed to get them all." Hermione said, "I think that we need to try and find those two boys."

"What?" Draco asked before Harry could even say anything. "Are you actually suggesting that Harry run off to play the hero, risking his life while he's carrying two babies?"

"I'm saying that maybe Harry should look into it considering the fact that he was supposed to have killed him. He could get access to the prophecy if he wanted to, he could find out what it means." Hermione pointed out thinking that she was making excellent points however Draco was fuming.

"How can you say that? He's pregnant with twins!" Draco said trying desperately to keep his temper down.

"And what concern is it of yours Malfoy?" Ron snarled.

"I'm his boyfriend and the other father thank you very much Weasley so I think that it's very much my concern."

"Well how about you butt out Blondie." Ron said with a glare that had nothing on Lucius' death glare and wasn't even half as effective.

"Stop it both of you. Draco is right, I won't be doing anything remotely heroic until after the twins are born at least." Harry said sounding stern, he was extremely fed up with everyone making his life choices for him, from now on he was going to make his own decisions.

"But Harry, it's your responsibility to -"

"No Hermione, it really isn't my responsibility to do anything. I'm pregnant and I won't risk the lives of my children whether born or not. I can't actually believe that your even suggesting that I do."

"We're not saying that you have to risk your life. All we're saying is that you should look into it." Hermione said completely bewildered by the fact that Harry wasn't cooperating. Usually it had always been his idea to dive head first into adventures without a second thought but now he was being cautious and thinking of the consequences, she knew who she blamed for this sudden change in character.

"I get that you're concerned about this Hermione, I am as well however I've done my bit for the wizarding world and now there is nothing more that I want than to be left alone. I don't want to be in the daily prophet anymore for any reason and I don't want everyone to assume that I'm just going to drop everything and run off and save the day." Harry said and he sounded as if he was on the brink of tears but he was trying to be strong.

"How can you be so selfish Harry?" Hermione asked him and Draco had to bite his tongue to keep himself from lashing out at her.

"Hermione how can you accuse me of being selfish? I literally put my life on hold and almost died to defeat Voldemort, now that it's over all I want is to live a normal life and I have the chance to do that with Draco and our babies. Can't you see that I shouldn't have to run off and save the world all the time? We have a ministry of magic packed with witches and wizards more qualified than I to deal with this."

"But you're Harry Potter!" Hermione said with exasperation.

"You're supposed to do all this heroic stuff!" Ron said.

"So what you're basically saying is that Harry doesn't deserve to have a life of his own? That he should be at the beck and call of the ministry and of twerps like you so that when something bad happens and no one else can be bothered to do it you can call on good old Harry Potter. He'll save the day." Draco said through gritted teeth.

Hermione and Ron seemed lost for words at what Draco had said and they really couldn't think of anything to say in reply. "Draco's right that is what you've basically said, I'm sorry guys, I know that this seems really iffy but I'm not going to be the one to deal with it. The ministry can do what it will but they're very wrong if they're assuming that I'm going to have anything to do with this." Harry said matter-of-factly, he refused to be bullied into this, his role in the war against Voldemort was well and truly over, he wanted his life with Draco and their children, he knew full well that it would be a quite life but that was what he had wanted.

Before that day at Hogwarts when he and Draco had had sex for the first time Harry would have done anything for another adventure, another chance to prove himself, something else to live for. Ron and Hermione would have supported him again and they could have been the unstoppable golden trio, united against the forces of darkness.

However things had changed now, he had wanted so badly to have something to live for and now he had it, it just wasn't the something that he had expected. He was averagely happy living with Draco, the only thing dragging it down was all the stuff they kept printing about him in the Daily Prophet.

"I can't believe that you're refusing to do this. I didn't think that you'd ever turn your backs on us." Hermione said sounding saddened.

"How am I turning my back on your guys? We've been friends since we were eleven, I bought you a house! I wanted to make sure that the two of you were alright! How can you just say to me that I'm turning my back on you?" Harry said getting angry.

"You turned your back on your friends the day you sided with him Harry! He punched Oliver in the face for goodness sake! He's a Malfoy!" Ron said.

"Shows what you know Weasley, my father disowned me for choosing to be with Harry, I'm not longer a Malfoy." Draco said glaring at the red head.

"I love you guys more than you know but I love Draco too, you can't ask me to choose between my friends and my boyfriend it isn't fair." Harry said and as he said this he allowed a tear to escape and trickle down his cheek.

"We can't be friends with you while you're seeing him Harry! He's changed you, you're not our friend anymore, you're someone completely different and you don't even see it." Hermione said, she was crying herself now.

"What changed me Hermione is realising that I'm going to be a parent and have to raise two children. Draco is the man that I want to do it with, I can't choose you two over him. I'm sorry."

"I can't believe that you're siding with him!" Ron said in outrage, he had clenched his fists and was looking angry enough to spit.

"Please just leave, I think that we've all said enough." Harry said and he stood up, turning away from them so that they wouldn't see him crying.

Hermione got up to leave as did Ron however the red head was fuming with rage and he wasn't just going to let it drop however it wasn't Harry who his anger was directed at. Draco was the reason that it had managed to get to this stage and that was who Ron blamed.

With Harry's back turned to the group and Hermione preparing herself to leave Ron pounced on an unsuspecting Draco who had left his wand upstairs in the bedroom.


	17. Chapter 17

A Million Reasons

Chapter seventeen

Ron had never been the brightest star in the heavens, some might say that he wasn't quite all there and all this is true if not an understatement. When he pounced on Draco he wasn't expecting that Harry would have spent time erecting some wards around the property to protect Draco and himself.

When Ron went to attack Draco the wards that already existed around the house protected him. Harry hadn't been able to put all the wards up around the house that he wanted just yet but this one was a great start. Ron was suspended in mid air and he remained there. The sight of him though was enough to make Hermione shriek and Harry spin around to see what was happening.

He was slightly amused to see that his spell work was working in exactly the way that he had wanted it to. Ron now looked like he had had several particularly nasty curses and jinxes thrown at him simultaneously. Hermione stood her hand covering her mouth in complete shock, Draco and Harry now stood together sniggering at the sight of the red head who looked as if a trip to St Mungo's might just be what he needed.

"What did you do to him?" Hermione asked them in complete shock, horrified at what had happened to her fiancé.

"I didn't do anything to him, he did that to himself." Harry explained. "While Draco and I are in this house we are protected by the magic that surrounds it, I haven't had time to make it unplottable and make unwanted guests turn away yet but I thought that at least this meant that we were protected. After Lucius' visit the other day I decided I had to do something."

"Well fix him!" Hermione exclaimed in a complete panic as she watched Ron hover in mid air looking nothing like his usual self.

Harry and Draco however weren't really paying much attention to what it was that Hermione was screeching about because they were in complete hysterics watching Ron. No one could ever say that the hero of the wizarding world and his boyfriend were mature all of the time. Harry had only erected the spell for temporary protection and it seemed to have worked nicely.

Taking a deep breath Harry tried to regain his composure because Hermione was beginning to look as if she might be the next one to try and attack them. If she hadn't been so level headed then she probably would have just gone for it but she now knew about the spell in place and with its effects quite visible in front of her she managed to keep her temper.

"Now seeing as Ron's just hanging there and we aren't on good terms anyway" Harry said realising that this was his chance to do some real interrogation work, "I want to know if it's the two of you or just one of you that's been blabbing to the papers about my private business."

Hermione shook her heard looking horror stricken at the mere thought however Ron hadn't moved and was looking extremely guilty, so much for Harry assuming that he couldn't hide it well.

Harry didn't seem to be able to find anything to say, Ron just hovered in mid air looking extremely guilty and Hermione just looked at him wide eyed. Harry however was relived at finally having found the culprit however he never would have thought that Ron was clever enough or even clued up enough to work something like this out.

"Why Ron, why did you do it?" Harry asked and this was only the first of a long list of questions that were currently going through Harry's head.

If possible and apparently it was, Ron looked even guiltier than before as he muttered something that involved money. At his response Harry was appalled he just couldn't understand why his so called best friend would sell him out for something as trivial as money.

"How could you do that Ron? If you had needed money you should have asked." Harry said in utter disbelief at what he had just learnt.

Hermione shook her head, she seemed to be ashamed of what Ron had done and even Ron didn't seem to begrudge her this reaction. Draco just stood close to Harry playing the part of the silent observer but silent or not he was seething at Ron because of all the misery that he had caused to both of their lives and probably the twins lives as well.

Because of him he had been disowned from his family, whom he would probably never see again, the fact the twins would exist in just under nine months was public knowledge, which included any deatheater that had a lingering grudge against the boy-who-lived. Ron didn't seem to realise just how much trouble he had caused because of his need to earn some more money.

Apparently the male ego stopped him from answering that question and Harry found himself feeling far too betrayed to continue asking why. He was sick and tired of finding out how people that he loved were not to be fully trusted, he just wanted to get back to having lots and lots of sex with Draco before he got too large for it to be possible.

"I'm going to release the spell on him and he'll return to normal, I think that he's had enough time to cool off, once I let him down though you're both going to walk out my front door and you're only ever going to come back if I invite you okay." Harry said and he realised that it was a drastic measure towards people that had been his best friends since he was eleven but what with everything that had been said he didn't think that he could face them for a while, not knowing what he now knew.

They thought that he was selfish for not dropping everything in his life and running off to save the day, which Harry didn't think that he should have to do and of course he was right in that. However it wasn't that which he wasn't sure that he could forgive them for, his fame and time in the limelight was something that he had always resented ever since his fourth year when it had really become an issue.

Ron had known how much of a annoyance it had been then and yet he still chose to sell all that he knew to the Daily Prophet for a bit of extra money. After everything Harry had done for them, what with buying the house and all, he couldn't have been more hurt by what he had done.

As he said that he would Harry released Ron from the many spells that were holding him transformed and in mid-air, the red head dropped to the floor in a dishevelled heap. For a moment it looked as if he might attempt to attack Draco again but the memory of what had just happened was still extremely fresh otherwise he probably would have done.

Harry said nothing, he didn't want to show that he was bothered, he didn't want them to see that he was crying, he just wanted them to leave so he could be with Draco in peace. It wasn't much of a life but it was something that he wanted. He knew that he would never have the kind of life that he wanted, it would always be too full of trouble for it to ever be peaceful but it was what he wanted and he wouldn't give up trying.

Hermione gathered Ron up from the floor and led him through the house to the front door, as soon as they were out of sight Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and just held him. Harry tried desperately not to just break down and cry but he couldn't really help himself, he had never expected for either Ron or Hermione to act in such a way.

"Come on Harry, lets just go back to bed." Draco suggested and Harry nodded that he agreed to this plan, going back to bed meant sex and not coping and he was very open to that plan.

Draco led him up the stairs to their bedroom and they collapsed on the bed, however kissing and sex did not immediately resume. Harry seemed to be too overloaded with emotions, he was so overwhelmed by the betrayal of his friends.

Draco's suggestion of moving away was looking more and more attractive as the minutes past. There was so much running through Harry's mind, he didn't want anyone to know where they were, he just wanted to be left in peace to live out his life with Draco and the twins.

He knew that everything they needed was right here but the problem remained that there were also a lot of undesirable things here as well, Dumbledore, Lucius, Ron and Hermione not to mention all the reporters that were always looking for a good story.

"Draco, I know I was a little hesitant about the idea of moving away before but I think I'm starting to see the advantages to it. If we just pack up and leave, imagine how easy it would be." Harry said as Draco just held him in his arms.

"It would be so easy babe but you've never been one to take the easy route, which is why you didn't want to do it originally, what made you change your mind?" Draco asked as he traced circular patterns with his fingers lightly across Harry's tanned skin.

"Everything, I don't want the twins to be around here if things like this keep happening. It isn't fair on them! I want us to be able to live without constant demands to go off and save the world every other week."

"If that is what you really want then we'll do it, I wouldn't mind getting away from it all which is why I suggested it originally but somehow I don't think that you want to leave here."

"I know that everything we need is here but we would pack everything we needed and just go. Just the two of us, no one else would know where we were." Harry said smiling as he imagined how happy they would be together.

"And what about when you have to get checked out to ensure that you and the twins are okay and what about when you give birth? We won't be able to do it just the two of us, I'm scared shitless about the birth and I'm not even carrying them. We'll need Poppy to help with everything."

"Okay then she's the only one that knows and we make her make the unbreakable vow, why can't we just do it?" Harry asked suddenly getting very excited about the possibility that he might be able to finally get away from it all.

"How about we buy somewhere and we prepare but we don't go and we keep everything that we're doing a secret. Then once the children are born we can just do it, we can leave and never come back. No one at all will ever have to know where we're going but if one person knows then there are ways to track us."

Harry looked up at Draco realising that what he said was true. "Alright, everything does seem to have calmed down a little. Let's do it! We'll start tomorrow and we'll arrange everything so that we can just disappear. Dumbledore and Lucius won't be back for a while, neither will Ron and Hermione, it's perfect we can just leave once the twins are born."

"Exactly, everything needs to be carefully arranged so that no one knows what we're doing because otherwise everyone will suddenly know what we're doing. We can't have anyone finding out. However once the twins are born we go straight to the new place wherever that might be."

"Draco that sounds perfect. As long as you're coming with me I can't imagine anything being better than that." Harry said as he snuggled closer to his boyfriend who in turn snuggled into Harry so they couldn't have been closer if they had tried.

"I told you babe, I'm not going to go anywhere, you're all that I've got left, you and the twins. You're not going to get rid of me easily." Draco said placing a soft kiss on Harry's forehead.


	18. Chapter 18

A Million Reasons

Chapter eighteen

Seven months passed without incident, Albus Dumbledore had enough sense left in his old age that he stayed well away from Harry Potter and Draco. Lucius Malfoy successfully disowned his son much to the thrill of the daily Prophet who had yet another story to print on the couple.

Harry however had set up so many protective spells and wards around his and Draco's home that any untrustworthy person or anyone with intent to harm, wound, kill, maim or any thing else that wasn't particularly good made them immediately terrified, if they got any closer to the house then they would have a slight accident in their pants and if they then attempted to get any closer then they would very slowly lose their sanity until they were completely insane.

Harry took great pride in his spell casting abilities when he thought of this and Draco was also extremely impressed. With all the added magic surrounding them in the small house it made it seem as if they would be staying there almost indefinitely. This of course was not the case.

It had taken Draco a lot of hard work to finally (and secretly) purchase a house somewhere in the wilderness of England in a small town that as far as Draco was aware was a witch and wizard free town. That was why he had chosen that particular place. It was small, more a glorified village than a town but it supplied all the basics like a small supermarket, a post office and a few high street shops including a family bakers and butchers.

It was a sweet little town that suited Harry and Draco perfectly, Harry had visited the place only once and it was briefly just so Draco knew that Harry would be happy there. He was too high profile currently with this lightening bolt scar and protruding belly that carried the twins inside.

Harry very rarely left the comforts of their small house situated next to Ron and Hermione who despite being their neighbours and former best friends had managed to keep their distance, both too scared to face Harry even when pregnant. Also rumour had it that they were working on the missing brother case, which Harry had completely ignored, not because he didn't care but because he shouldn't have to be involved in the whole ordeal.

It was unfortunate that Harry couldn't really leave the house since he had started to show because otherwise pictures started to appear in the Daily Prophet and neither of them wanted that. The twins would never be in the limelight Harry was going to make sure of that. He didn't want them to experience the things that he had had to experience in his life, both Harry and Draco wanted to protect them more than anything else in the world.

The relationship between them was growing that they were getting stronger as a couple, which was exactly what they needed to do before the twins were born especially if they wanted to be strong and able parents which happened to be exactly what they wanted. Now that it was getting nearer the birth Harry was getting increasingly more scared with each passing day. Poppy had told them that because of the fact that it was a male pregnancy and the fact that it was twins meant that there was no possible chance that the pregnancy would go to term.

Now that Harry was a little over seven months he was expecting to feel the beginnings of labour any day now. However with the potential of the twins being born looming over them like a storm cloud threatening to rain that also meant that whatever the deatheater's were planning would happen soon.

To say that Draco and Harry were both a little anxious was putting it very lightly. Harry hadn't really been thinking about the birth, only Draco had but now they were both extremely nervous about it. Any day now they were going to have two babies to take care of. One day they wouldn't be there and the next they would, even though Harry's stomach was protruding an extraordinary amount with the two children inside it, he still couldn't quite believe that it was happening and Draco was still there, ready to stick by him no matter what.

Poppy had explained to both of the anxious young men that the birth would consist of a caesarean section to remove the children from Harry. HE obviously couldn't actually give birth to them because he was a man and he didn't have the necessary equipment to do so. She had told them that Harry's water wouldn't break like in a regular pregnancy, he would just experience cramps in his abdomen and that they would get more and more painful as the babies tried to get out but couldn't.

They had to be very careful because once the cramps started they had roughly five hours to realise what they were, fire call Poppy who would then gather everything she needed and floo over to perform the birth before it became an issue that the twins were not yet out of Harry.

Poppy used a lot more medical terms than that when explaining it to Harry and Draco and they hadn't really fully understood everything that she had said but they knew that they had to be very careful because the labour and the birth were both extremely dangerous for both mother and children.

Draco had teased Harry a little about the whole mother thing but with one glare from Harry the blonde had very swiftly shut up. Harry had been extremely grumpy of late because he wasn't really sleeping. The twins apparently were very lively and didn't like to rest too much, he described the sensation of their movements like they were playing tag with one another inside of him and that they never really tired of that game.

Draco was also getting a tad irritable as time went on. It wasn't due to lack of sleep either, it was all down to the fact that he was extremely sexually frustrated. Since Harry had become so big he hadn't really been in the mood for sex and for the past month he had been denying Draco even the simplest forms of foreplay. Draco was also well aware that even once the twins were born it was very unlikely that things would improve for at least a month, maybe two.

He had taken to heading to the bathroom for a shower and staying there for a good hour, sometimes two. Harry knew exactly what he was doing in there and sometimes when Draco forgot to put silencing charms on the door he would hear his boyfriend panting his name as he came.

Of course Harry did feel a little guilty about denying sex from Draco, especially when he had done nothing to deserve such treatment but he really couldn't bring himself to have sex, it felt wrong somehow with the twins so close to being born. He was so scared of the labour that he didn't want anything to bring it on early in case it hurt the twins.

The night that the cramps started Harry had gone to bed early, Draco had opted to stay downstairs and read for a while. It was just as the Gryffindor had settled into bed and turned off the lights that he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. He gasped and clutched at his stomach as the pain subsided only for another one to occur.

"DRACO!" Harry shouted and at once he heard movement downstairs as the blonde made his way up stairs with haste.

He burst through the closed bedroom door and immediately went to Harry who was still in bed, sitting up and clutching at his stomach. "Harry, what is it, what's wrong?" He asked in a frantic panic becoming scared by Harry's terrified expression.

"Fire call Poppy! It's happening!!" Harry said and immediately Draco sprung to life, rushing back down the stairs to do as Harry had instructed. He could tell that this was going to be a long night.

Poppy arrived within half an hour or Draco's call by which point Harry was in extreme amounts of agony as the cramps had worsened. Draco was lying next to him holding his hand and trying to calm him down.

Poppy immediately got to work, she ushered Draco to the other side of the room so that he wouldn't get in the way, it pained Draco not to be able to be close to his boyfriend who was obviously in a great deal of pain.

It took four hours.

By the end of it Draco was sure that something was wrong because Harry was in so much pain. The blonde was in floods of tears as he watched his boyfriend grip the bed sheets and screw his eyes closed with the pain.

However cuddled up fast asleep in two white blankets were two very pink babies. They were so tiny and delicate that all Draco could do was stare at the two bundles as Poppy fixed Harry up and healed him.

"Now, you need to get some rest Mr Potter. I will be back in the morning to check up on the three of you, if you need me before I return then you know where to reach me." Poppy said as she gathered together everything she had used.

"Thank you Poppy and please, try to keep this quiet, say that it was a false alarm or something if you're asked and you stayed to be sure." Harry said and Poppy nodded, she actually felt a little sorry for the predicament that the two young men were in. She knew exactly what kind of lives the twins would have if they grew up in the lime light. They were Harry Potter's children, they would be just as well known as their father.

Poppy left soon after, Harry propped himself up on the bed as Draco handed him on of the bundles before joining his boyfriend on the bed with the other little bundle.

"Aren't they perfect?" Draco said as he snuggled himself closer to Harry.

"They're so tiny. Didn't feel that way a couple hours ago." Harry said with a smile.

"You know we haven't really discussed names. I'll understand if you want to use your parent's names." Draco said.

"Actually I don't. I want to keep the memory of my parents separate from my new family. I think everyone expected me to call my children after their grandparents but I don't want to, we should decide on names together, names we both like."

"Okay then, what names do you like?"

"How about Nathan and Natalie?" Harry suggested.

"I think that they're perfect."

"You're not just saying that?"

"No, I really do think that they're perfect. Besides you were in unbelievable pain for four hours to bring these beautiful and perfect babies into the world I think that you should have the names that you want for them."

Draco turned his head towards Harry and found himself sharing a sweet kiss with his boyfriend. He felt an overwhelming love towards his boyfriend currently and he was on overload from the fact that there were now two children in his care.

"I'm kinda tired, I think I should sleep." Harry said trying to stifle a yawn.

"I agree, shall I put them in their cots?" Draco asked.

"No, not tonight, I want them in here with us, just until we move, I don't want to risk it." Harry said and he had genuine fear in his voice.

"Its okay baby, I understand, I'll bring their mosses baskets through. You have nothing to worry about." Draco said reassuringly.

He walked through to the bedroom next door and placed Nathan in the mosses basket, picked it up with one hand, took Natalie's in the other and went back through to Harry where he found that the Gryffindor had fallen asleep with the infant in his arms.

It looked so adorable that he couldn't help but grab his camera that he had bought just for occasions such as this.

Once he had caught the moment he settled both twins in their mosses baskets before getting undressed and cuddling up with a very exhausted Harry. Draco stayed awake for a while watching over the two new born children and his boyfriend who he couldn't have loved anymore in that one moment.


	19. Chapter 19

A Million Reasons

Chapter Nineteen

Poppy returned the next morning to ensure that the health of Harry and both of the newborn babies was faring well. It was of course and she was satisfied that the three of them would be more than fine, however she had an inkling about what the two of them were about to do and she instructed, quite sternly, that Harry should have nothing but rest and relaxation, or as much as possible with two babies, for at least three days.

Draco who wanted nothing more than to protect his new family nodded vigorously and agreed to keep Harry secluded to the bedroom. This also meant that he would have to go without sex for a few more days because sex was most certainly a strenuous activity and he knew Harry wouldn't feel up for it for a few days anyway.

What with Harry needing to stay in bed they put of their moving plans for a week, it was a risk now that Nathan and Natalie were born but it was even more of a risk to move everyone so soon after the birth, Draco didn't want anything to go round and he certainly didn't want anyone hurt.

Draco was overly aware however that the longer they stayed where they were the likelihood was that something would happen, he knew that the birth of the twins wouldn't go smoothly and he was highly suspicious. Harry Potter, the saviour of the wizarding world, the man with many enemies had just given birth to two babies, he was weak and the children defenceless.

Draco wanted to move on to their safe haven as quickly as possible, as soon as Harry was well enough to travel they would go. Harry too was nervous about the coming week, he didn't like knowing that they were somewhere where that they could be found and easily. He was a mother now and he was very protective of his little ones.

Nathan and Natalie were very precious to both of the young men. As babies went they were fairly well behaved and patient, they seemed to be amused enough with just each other and didn't demand constant attention from their parents.

They were very happy and extremely healthy babies. Natalie had traces of Harry's raven black hair and the most startling green eyes but Draco's up turned nose was clearly evident but full lips that were obviously Harry's. Nathan on the other hand also had Harry's hair but he had silver eyes that seemed even more magical than Draco's own. His lips were thinner than his sisters but his nose just as upturned.

Harry had fallen in love with them from the first moment that he had laid eyes upon them, Draco too had done so. He couldn't believe that he had almost passed the opportunity to be there with his children in favour of doing as his father had instructed him to do.

Looking back on the decisions that he had made and his choice to be with Harry rather than be a Malfoy had been the right one to make. Now that he had two beautiful children and a boyfriend that was beautiful and caring not to mention loving and kind he couldn't quite remember why it was that he had been willing to give them up because of his father. Now there just didn't seem to be any comparison.

It was fortunate that the Daily Prophet didn't get wind of the birth of the twins the day after they were born. There was a small article at the bottom of the Prophet the next morning about the close call so everyone thought that Harry was still carrying them which gave them some time. However they knew all too well that that wouldn't last long.

The wizarding world now knew that Harry was very close to going into labour, especially since he was having scares, the peace and happiness that they were feeling could only last for so long in their minds. It wasn't that they didn't think that they could be happy because they knew that they could be but for that to happen they had to be out of the limelight and so did the twins.

As the children of a Potter and a Malfoy, two well known names in the wizarding world, was a complete phenomenon. There was no doubt that they would have power and the wizarding world was now waiting with baited breath to know more about the two children.

Both Harry and Draco had agreed that this couldn't happen. They wanted to make sure that until Nathan and Natalie turned eleven they would not know of the wizarding world. Of course they would know of magic and Harry and Draco intended to tutor them before they even accepted their letters to the school so that they would excel easily.

Harry didn't want them going into the Wizarding School blind as he had done when he had been eleven, he wanted to make their lives perfect and if possible he wanted to make their lives easier than his, which he was sure was entirely possible to achieve.

The hope was that they would manage to disappear before the news was leaked about the fact that the twins had been born. Of course nothing ever seemed to go right for our hero who seemed to have the worst luck in the world.

It was two days after the twins had been born that Albus Dumbledore showed his unwelcome face at their front door. He had of course been informed that there had been a labour scare and he wanted to make sure that Harry was okay, however the caring headmaster front was all a cover so that he was able to sneak a look to see if the couple were hiding something, which they were.

Draco was the one to answer the door because Harry was still restricted to bed rest, Nathan and Natalie were with him, having their morning bottles. When the Slytherin opened the door to see who was disturbing them he scowled.

"How did you get past the wards?" Draco asked sounding shocked that the headmaster had managed it, the wards that had been set up had been set up to keep people like him away from their home.

"Surely do you don't underestimate my magical ability Draco, the wards that you and Harry established were easy enough for me to take down, I am sure you amused yourselves putting them up." Dumbledore said sombrely. "I am sure however that the ministry would be less than pleased to know of your particular choice of magic's around your home."

"Is that a threat Dumbledore?"

"No, it is merely a warning. Now, please may I come inside?"

"No, you may not." Draco said rather rudely.

"I only wish to see how Harry is fairing, after all he should be close to going into labour, I come here only as a concerned friend."

"You are no friend of ours." Draco said keeping a firm hold on the door, ensuring that the interfering headmaster couldn't come inside.

"You seem to have forgotten your manors since being disowned from your family Draco. If you will not allow me inside then perhaps you will call for Harry and I may speak to him and check on his welfare."

"You're not speaking to Harry, Dumbledore." Draco said firmly, "Poppy has requested bed rest and we don't want to bring on labour before we have to. I'm sorry, maybe when the children are born but only if Harry wants to, which I doubt."

"Very well, though Poppy has said that she will be over to check on Harry in the morning." Dumbledore said.

Draco nodded and closed the door and then thought nothing more of what the headmaster had said. He returned to Harry and helped feed Nathan and Natalie their bottles while explaining to his boyfriend what had just happened.

Harry was too tired to think too deeply about what had happened and the things that the headmaster had said. He had too much on his mind to be thinking about a scheming headmaster and his plans.

This however turned out to be a big mistake on Harry and Draco's part, because they had been so content with their lives with the twins they didn't want to think that their peaceful home was going to be disrupted before they even had a chance to move without being noticed.

The next morning Dumbledore, disguised as Poppy with the help of polyjuice potion, returned to the house, taking down the wards as he entered the home as he had done the previous day. He couldn't keep the wards down because they were well built up wards but he could break through them without having them affect him.

He knocked on the door and he waited, Draco opened the door and immediately stood aside and let who he thought was Poppy into the house. Triumphant Dumbledore stepped over the threshold and into the house.

Draco had only just woken up, the twins had been fussing all night so both him and Harry had been awake for the majority of the night with Nathan and Natalie. Neither of them were really in their right mind that morning, which is why neither of them noticed that Poppy wasn't acting like she usually did.

"Harry's upstairs, Nathan and Natalie were a little restless last night." Draco said stifling a yawn and motioning that Poppy/Dumbledore should follow him upstairs.

They made their way upstairs, Harry wasn't yet dressed and was still under the duvet, leaning on his side, his head proper up with his arm and he was cooing at his two children who were smiling and gurgling happily at him.

Draco immediately joined his boyfriend on the bed, Nathan and Natalie didn't falter for a second when Draco kissed them, they just continued to look around them happily.

"May I?" Dumbledore asked, motioning that he would like to hold Nathan. Harry nodded, scooped up his son and handed him to who he thought was the medi witch.

"I'm feeling a lot better Poppy, I was wondering how long I'll have to be confined to my bed, I need to get back into shape." Harry said.

Dumbledore however wasn't listening, he accepted Nathan into his arms and looked at the baby, Nathan looked directly back before screwing up his face and starting to scream. Alarmed Draco shot up off the bed and took Nathan into his arms, rocking him gently in an attempt to sooth him.

Harry was now looking at Poppy with suspicion. Nathan and Natalie knew Poppy, they had seen her often when she came to do her check ups, they had been held by her every time she had been in their house.

"What an odd child, but in excellent health." Dumbledore said to break the tense silence that had consumed the room, Nathan had now stopped crying but both Harry and Draco were still looking at who they thought now might not be Poppy with high suspicion.

"Why wouldn't he go to you?" Draco asked, "He's always gone to you before."

"If he's been restless all night he may be a little grouchy, it's nothing to worry about." Dumbledore said trying desperately to cover up the fact that he was there.

"You're not Poppy." Harry said as he took Natalie into his arms and holding her to him protectively. "Who are you and want do you want here?"

"You would not talk to me any other way, I came to check on your welfare." Dumbledore said realising that he had been discovered.

"Dumbledore!" Draco said, "Get out of this house! You're not welcome here." Draco said, he handed Nathan to Harry and withdrew his wand, however Dumbledore had already done the same in the time that it took for Draco to hand his son over to Harry.

"If you fire any sort of harmful spell at Draco, Dumbledore then I will kill you myself, you will not fight in front of our children." Harry said sternly. "Why did you come here?"

"I came here to check on your welfare." Dumbledore said matter-of-factly, "I was not permitted entrance to your home yesterday, I was concerned for you so I had to find an alternative way to get inside."

"You came here to snoop!" Draco stated disgusted, he hadn't lowered his wand and neither had Dumbledore despite Harry's warning. "Did you ever think that if we hadn't invited you in the first time then we didn't want you here?"

"We are trying to protect our children Dumbledore, can't you see that? No one but Poppy, Draco and I knew that they had been born, because they are my children they are in danger, if it becomes public knowledge that they have been born then anything might happen." Harry said and he was beginning to sound very distressed. He hadn't even thought to ask how the interfering old man got past the ingenious wards that had erected himself with Draco's help of course.

"Nothing would happen to them, it has to be known sooner or later, you cannot pretend that you are pregnant for eleven years while they grow up." Dumbledore said.

"We know this but the longer we can keep their existence a secret the better, I won't have anything hurting them." Harry said, he lay his children down in their mosses baskets so that he could defend himself if needed. He conjured a protective bubble to cover them both so that if a fight did begin then they would be protected from any misaimed spells. Draco noted what he was doing and realised that it might have to come down to a fight and he wasn't sure that he felt up for it after not having a lot of sleep.

"Then protect them, do what you will, there is a more important matter than I need to discuss with you anyway, I believe a few months ago Hermione mentioned the kidnap of two wizarding brothers." Harry nodded to show that he remembered this conversation that he had had. "They were found murdered two nights ago, they were not the ones that the prophecy mentioned, the wizards responsible, they have not been caught and seem to be Deatheater's."

"This has nothing to do with me Dumbledore, I did my bit, I killed him." Harry said trying to make his point very clear.

"They carved a message onto one of their chests, it was a message that was meant for you Harry." Dumbledore said, Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"What did it say?" He asked and he knew at once that he was going to regret asking that question and taking an interest.

"The exact words were 'Let us see if Harry Potter can stop us now'." Dumbledore said to him.

"Harry, they're just trying to goad you out of your hiding place, they want you to make yourself known and if you do not only will you be in danger but so will the twins." Draco said realising that Harry might not be able to ignore something so obvious.

"There is more. The reason that the two wizarding brothers were killed was because the Deatheater's managed to get hold of the rest of the prophecy. A brother and a sister, born in the fourth month to one known to and of the world of magic, siblings great in magical strength and even greater in mind, they will have the power, the power to bring back the one feared by many and he will be great once again and more terrifying than ever before with the siblings by his side."

"Why did the Deatheater's think that it was the two brothers?" Harry asked.

"Both were born in April despite being of different ages, their parents were both known to be powerful magically and the older of the sibling was already excelling in his studies."

"So do they know who the prophecy relates to yet?" Harry asked and he once again felt that he was going to deeply regret that question. The headmaster knew that he had Harry's attention now and Draco knew this as well and he wasn't pleased about it.

"I have my theories, no one else knows what I suspect yet but I am sure that the Deatheater's think the same as me. There are two weeks left of this month Harry, unless you can keep their birth hidden from the Wizarding world for that long the Deatheater's will no doubt think that your two children are the ones that can bring him back."

"My children will never be apart of anything like that." Harry said stubbornly, "I won't let it happen."

"You might not have a choice, there are at least twenty Deatheater's, there are only two of you here, if they choose to attack you then you won't have much of a chance. The good news is that they have no desire to hurt your children, they need them alive."

"Let me think about what I'm going to do, keep me posted with what you know and I'll owl you if I decide to do anything." Harry said, Draco bit his tongue to keep from saying anything at Harry's words.

Dumbledore nodded satisfied that he had spurred Harry on satisfactorily, Draco showed the elderly man to the front door and said nothing pleasant before closing the door behind him and going back upstairs to talk to Harry. He certainly had something to say to him.


	20. Chapter 20

A Million Reasons

Chapter Twenty

"Please tell me you only said that to make him leave." Draco said as he entered the bedroom. The twins had fallen asleep in their mosses baskets and Harry had just pulled on his jeans, which were still a little tighter than he liked.

"Draco …"

"Harry, you can't." Draco said as he heard the regret in his boyfriend's voice as he spoke his name.

"What if Nathan and Natalie are the ones that the Prophecy mentions. What if they're the ones that will have the power to bring him back? You heard what Dumbledore said Draco, they'll want to take them and raise them."

"Then we'll stick to our original plan, we'll leave, right now if we have to but we'll go and we won't tell anyone where we're going." Draco said, he was feeling so scared at that moment, he was absolutely terrified that he was going to loose Harry because of his heroic Gryffindor side and he didn't think that he would ever be able to live without Harry with him, not after they had been so much to be together.

"Draco, I want to, there is a part of me that just thinks that it shouldn't be up to me. Saving the world over and over again isn't worth all the risks any more, not now I have you and the twins, I love the three of you more than anything else in the entire world but there is another part of me that thinks that I have to do something, I can't just let it happen."

"But Harry, think about it, if we just disappear you won't have to do anything about it because the twins will be out of harms way, they can't be kidnapped if no one knows where to find them." Draco said making what he thought was a brilliant point.

"And that is a great plan with only one flaw. We can't keep them wrapped up in bubble wrap forever, the threat will still be out there. If they're recognised then we're right back where we started. I'm all for running away from the problem and not dealing, I've tried to ignore it but they killed those two boys, children. They were a message for me, how can I ignore that?"

"Easily, I know I sound as if I don't have a heart when I say this but fuck them, it isn't your responsibility to save everyone, if just can't be done, lives are lost Harry, there isn't anything that you can do about it. If you keep trying to prevent it then you're going to get yourself killed."

"How about we see what happens. If we can keep their birth hidden for another two weeks like Dumbledore said then we'll just disappear and never be seen again. If it reaches the Daily Prophet then I want you to take Nathan and Natalie and go into hiding, I'll stay behind and fight."

"Not a chance in hell Harry, you know I'm not going to leave you, if you choose to fight then I'm going to be there whether you like it or not." Draco said stubbornly, with a stubborn streak as big as Harry and Draco's had the twins didn't have any chance.

"If it comes down to it I'll have to go and fight but you don't have to. I need you to take care of Nathan and Natalie, there isn't anyone else in the world who I'd trust with them."

"I'll be fighting by your side, the way that it should be Harry and you can't stop me from doing that." Draco said with determination.

"And who will take care of the twins Draco? You have to stay behind and take care of them, every time I fight I risk my life, if you fight with me then you risk yours too, I don't want my children to grow up as orphans the way I had to. I might not have a choice but you will have and I want you to make the right one."

"Making the right choice to me Harry is choosing to fight with you and making sure that you live through it so that you can help me raise these two beautiful children. They deserve both parents with them as they grow up to love them as any child does. You never had that, don't take it away from them Harry."

From these words Harry had started to cry, he didn't want to have to go off and fight, he didn't want to risk his life and if he ended up doing it then he wouldn't be doing it for Dumbledore or for his friends or even the rest of the wizarding world, he'd be fighting to keep his family safe and alive. He loved them more than he could ever love anything else in the world.

The thought that anything might happen to them because he hadn't prevented the cause of their pain when he had the opportunity to do so hurt him more than any spell could ever manage. He looked at Draco as the man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, he wanted to give Nathan and Natalie a little brother or sister to play with. He didn't want to die in a fight preventing the return of Lord Voldemort who he had already risked his life to kill many times.

It was pure agony to think that it would be his children that might be the ones that brought Voldemort back. Harry now realised that hiding just wasn't the answer, the Deatheater's wanted to ensure that Nathan and Natalie were evil as long as they were still at large the threat was still there. The longer that Harry didn't deal with it the more it would worry him.

The problem was he didn't think that he would be able to tell Draco all of this, he just wouldn't understand. He knew that he wouldn't, but this was something that he was going to have to do. It wasn't going to do them any good as a couple but in the end they would be safe so it would be worth it eventually.

"Promise me that you won't go off to fight on your own." Draco said.

Harry faltered at this, he wouldn't promise Draco that because he wasn't sure that he wouldn't break that promise. He didn't want to make any promises to Draco that he wasn't sure that he would be able to keep. It just wasn't fair on Draco to do that to him. What they had right now was amazing but this prophecy ordeal could ruin absolutely everything that they had built together.

The last thing that Harry wanted was to ruin their relationship but he didn't see any other way that they would ever have peace of mind. He didn't want to live his life constantly looking over his shoulder and he refused to live in such a way. He had never been the type to just run in the other direction when danger reared his fearsomely ugly face.

Later that day Severus came to call, he caused no threat to any of the household and had been able to get through the wards unscathed. He had been coming and going throughout the entire pregnancy and he had become fast friends with both Harry and Draco.

He hadn't been told that the twins had been born but he understood completely why, he had been named godfather for both of the twins and he had happily accepted. When he saw that Nathan and Natalie had been born he smiled a real smile that was such a rare phenomena that Harry and Draco couldn't quite believe it.

"How are the two of you faring?" He asked as they all settled in the living room, Nathan and Natalie happily lying on the floor on a play mat, occupied by the plastic bar going over them that had toys dangling off it.

"We're doing well." Harry said with a smile as he settled himself on the sofa next to Draco who didn't say a word, he was still a little miffed about the conversation that they had had earlier.

"I see that the children are perfectly healthy. You both must be very proud of them." Severus said as he looked down at them lovingly. He had never seen a more perfect and more innocent sight.

"Yes, we are, we couldn't be happier." Harry said with a smile as he went to hold Draco's hand however the blonde snatched his hand away, something noticed by Severus, his face suddenly looked concerned.

Harry on the other hand knew exactly why he was pissed off and sighed, he didn't want to bring up their couple issues in front of Severus, he had become a good friend.

"And are the two of you coping well." Severus asked.

"We're coping very well with the children." Draco said pointedly.

"However I sense that there is something wrong, it wouldn't have anything to do with the headmaster making his way round here yesterday morning before returning and demanding some Polyjuice potion would it?"

"Actually it has everything to do with that" Draco said.

"Would you care to explain?"

"Dumbledore has managed to convince Harry that he needs to go off and prevent the remaining Deatheater's from raising Voldemort from the dead." Draco said through gritted teeth. Severus sighed and attempted to process what Draco had just said.

"And how is it that he has managed to do that?" Severus asked trying to keep his voice neutral. Harry shifted off the sofa and onto the floor so he could play with the twins and therefore avoid looking at either of the other men in the room.

"Being manipulative as he always is." Draco said. "He's managed to convince Harry that he needs to go off and fight the Deatheater's."

"How on earth did he manage to do that?" Severus asked in shock.

"The prophecy, it mentioned that two siblings, a girl and a boy that were born in April will have the power to bring back Voldemort, the Deatheater's want my children and I won't let them have them." Harry said defensively.

"Harry, the prophecy wasn't specific enough for us to say that it was without a doubt your children that it mentions. Prophecies are vague and tricky things, just like the Prophecy that involved you, it could have been you or Neville that it meant, Voldemort made the choice that it should be you, if he had chosen Neville then events would have been very different. Prophecies are all very well and good Harry but it is the choices that we make that turn Prophecies into what we want for fear them to be."

Severus' words were wise and Harry listened intently, he was fascinated by what he was saying, Draco too took in each word as if his very life depended on it.

"So you're saying that it might not even be Nathan and Natalie that the Prophecy mentions?" Draco asked, he wanted to get all the facts clear before he gloated to Harry about it.

"I'm saying that Nathan and Natalie are not the only twins that have been born this month and match the Prophecy. In fact there is two other sets of twins that it could mean. Dumbledore jumped to the conclusion that it meant your children because you are Harry Potter. He knew that you would fight for your children and for Draco if the need arose, he knows your weaknesses and he also knows your strengths. He has watched you carefully as you have grown up into the wonderful man that you are today and he has realised exactly how to exploit you." Severus said, "The problem is that it could very well be Nathan and Natalie however there is equal chance that it isn't."

"So what happens if we do nothing? What will happen?" Harry asked, he needed to be sure that he was doing the right thing.

"If you do nothing and just let fate take it's chosen path then there could be trouble ahead for the two of you and your beautiful children however if your luck turns and it isn't Nathan and Natalie that the Prophecy mentions then you two won't have to be bothered with this at all." Severus explained.

"But if Voldemort does come back …"

"Then it isn't your job to fight him. You have done more than your fair share of fighting Harry." Draco said, now joining his boyfriend on the floor next to the twins.

"Draco is right. It isn't your responsibility to jump to the rescue of the wizarding world, you deserve the solitude that you crave so badly. You need to think very carefully about the choices that you make Harry. If you decide that you have to do something and that you cannot walk away then I will help you fight this without question but I strongly advise against that route even though I am well aware that it goes against your nature to walk away."

"I've never walked away. I don't want to fight, it isn't something that I feel as if I have to do but if there is a threat to my family I want to make sure that it's eliminated before it has a chance to hurt my family. I love Draco and my babies more than anything else in the entire world, I lost everything and now I couldn't ask for anything more." Harry said, tears brimming in his eyes, threatening to fall.

"We understand Harry, I want to protect them too but you can't protect them from everything, you can't keep risking your life because one of these days you're not going to be so lucky. I want to protect you as much as I want to protect Nathan and Natalie. I don't understand why you don't think that you're important enough to live."

"I think that I've lived my whole life fighting for everyone around me, my life was destined to be full of war and death, it started off that way, I always assumed that would be the way that it ended. I never got the chance to read any fairy tales, I never wanted that happily ever after, I never expected it but now I have it and I'm not sure that it's real, I keep thinking that something is bound to go wrong, something has to ruin it."

"Fighting isn't the answer though. You have to try to accept that this happily ever after, this is going to be the rest of our lives, nothing is going to ruin that for you, I promise." Draco said taking Harry into his arms and holding him while he cried.

Severus looked at the two men with a smile on his face. He could see how in love the two of them were and it hadn't been something that he had predicted ever happening. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, even though he wasn't really a Malfoy anymore.

"I think that maybe I should be going. Think about what I've said Harry. It doesn't have to end up with you fighting. The Deatheater's that are still out there are not your responsibility, let the Ministry deal with them and anything that comes of the Prophecy."

"Thank you Severus." Harry said from snuggled against Draco's chest.

Draco merely smiled at the older man, glad that he had managed to talk some sense into Harry, he was sure that Dumbledore would be back again and he would play dirty but he hoped that Harry wouldn't fall for it again.


	21. Chapter 21

A Million Reasons

Chapter Twenty One

Draco seemed to be satisfied that Harry no longer felt the need to go off and fight, they had had a heart to heart talk and Harry had realised that he wanted more than anything to just be with his family.

Between the two of them they had decided that they had to get out. The thought that Harry had been convinced to go off and fight again was enough to show them both that they needed to leave. They needed to go somewhere away from Albus Dumbledore and the rest of the Wizarding world. They needed to stick to their original plan and just disappear.

The trouble was that now Severus had become such close friends with them they didn't want to leave him behind, they would have to tell him what they were planning, he would also have to be extremely careful when visiting them.

It was a move that they had been planning for a long time, the house was bought and ready to move in, everything that they needed was there and now the twins had been born there was nothing to stop them from just leaving.

Harry had taken into account everything that Severus had said and had accepted that it might not be the twins that were a part of the Prophecy but he still had a nagging feeling of guilt that told him he should do something. When he confided this in Draco the Slytherin explained it as being left over from when he had had to do whatever Dumbledore said.

Draco was determined that Harry wouldn't go off and fight so they had arranged to leave their home as soon as possible to move to their house in the country. They would leave the following day, they had invited Severus round for lunch so that they could say goodbye to him.

On the day of the move however Harry wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to go, he knew that it was for the best, he knew that moving away from everything would give him everything that he had ever wanted, not just for his life but for the twins as well.

Harry knew that it was what Draco wanted more than anything else and that was the very reason that he didn't say anything, it didn't matter to him how many doubts he had, if it made Draco happy then he was going to go through with it.

It meant a completely new start, it was something that they needed, what with Dumbledore messing with their heads and not talking to Ron and Hermione anymore, not to mention the damn Prophecy they needed to just leave, Draco knew that all to well but Harry was only just grasping that concept.

Severus arrived, prompt as always. He knew that something wasn't right with Harry and Draco. Upon arrival he saw the bags in the hallway and noticed that the majority of the toys had vanished. This meant to him only one thing and he would have been right to assume what he did.

When Harry and Draco told him what they were planning he understood completely why it was that they were doing it. After all the headmaster was planning on invading their personal space yet again this evening to see what Harry had decided to do and Albus was seeming pretty smug with himself.

Severus knew all too well that if they didn't leave that nothing would improve for them. However he would admit to fearing for the worst. If they left then they would no longer have any protection and they would be fending for themselves and even though he knew them to be fully capable they had never done anything remotely like this before and he wasn't sure whether or not they would survive.

Severus knew that they were perfectly capable young men but he was also well aware that they knew nothing about the real world, Harry knew more than Draco of course, the Slytherin had lead a very sheltered life and he was now being thrown in at the deep end. He felt a little responsible and extremely protective over the young men and their children, he didn't want anything to happen to them.

He knew that something would though, only two nights ago he had been approached by Lucius Malfoy and been invited to join the Deatheater's once more. He didn't want to say anything about it even though he had refused to join them, he didn't want to become a spy again. He knew that it was selfish to think that and to not want to help but he couldn't go through that again.

He did however know that they were planning something big but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. Severus knew what their eventual goal was because he had had the opportunity to talk to Lucius who was quickly becoming the ring leader of the group.

The problem was that he couldn't bring himself to tell the young men how much trouble they could be facing but not because he wanted to see them fall, quite the opposite, he couldn't tell them because he knew that Harry would feel responsible and he would insist upon running off to fight, Severus wanted nothing more than for them to be happy for as long as possible.

If hiding what he knew from them was the way to do it then that was what he intended to do. Nathan and Natalie meant everything to Severus because he doubted that he would ever have children of his own.

This was exactly why he had brought with him two vials of a potion along with instructions on how to use it, the potion in question he had invented himself which was exactly why he was so confident that it would work.

The three of them settled down in the living room and Severus prepared himself to explain his great plan to the young men. Draco spoke first breaking the news that they were leaving because of how much they needed to get away from the wizarding world.

"I thought that that would be what you chose to do and of course I do not begrudge you that happiness. I knew on some level that that would be the path that you would choose and however much I regret losing the both of you I have something that might help." Severus said. "It is a potion that I have invented myself, the drinker arranges an entirely new life for themselves, they spend one day in that life and then that night before going to bed they drink one vial of the potion and then go to sleep. The next morning you wake up and your past never happened."

"You just forget?" Draco asked curiously.

"In a way you do, yes, however you not forget in such a way that it would concern you. Basic memories are there, just nothing significant. For instance should Harry drink this potion he would remember growing up with his aunt and Uncle after loosing his parents, he won't remember how he lost them, only that he did." Severus explained.

"So it's a fresh start." Harry said, he was actually beginning to like the idea of this. He knew that if he disappeared then there would always be that guilt that he had run away from his responsibilities but if he took this potion then he wouldn't have to deal with that, he wouldn't remember what his responsibilities were let alone feel guilt for dropping them. "But what about the twins, I don't want to deny them their magical heritage."

"Nathan and Natalie are both already on the list to come to Hogwarts already. That wouldn't change if you took this potion, also because you have managed to conceal their birth from the world you wouldn't have to change their names, only yours."

"They wouldn't be well prepared but they wouldn't be in any danger either, we could be happy." Harry said more to himself than to anyone in the room. He kept his eyes on his two children that were happily playing on the floor before them.

"I have brought two vials of the potion with me today, I had a feeling that you would be leaving. No one else knows of course, just make sure that you put up suitable wards around wherever it is you are going."

"Don't worry Sev, we've already organized all of that, I've even arranged for all my money has also been transferred into a muggle account, the Goblins were very confused but by the time Dumbledore realises what we're going it will be too late for him to do anything."

"It is good to know that you have thought it all through and I am glad that I can help you along. Although I beg of you to be careful with this new life, you can turn it into something amazing, your possibilities will be endless but you must be cautious, you may not remember but the rest of the world will not."

"We understand Sev, I'm just amazed that you're giving us this opportunity. I never thought that in a million years we'd be able to leave all this behind so permanently."

"It is an amazing gift Severus, thank you." Harry said with a smile. "Now can you walk me though what we'll have to do to."

Severus then set about explaining what they had to do with the potion. They would have to go to their new home for a day and live a life there, they would have to prepare everything that they wanted to have first of course, jobs, a car etc. Once they had managed this they must live one regular day and then before they go to sleep that night they must drink the potion.

When Severus tried to explain how the potion worked both Harry and Draco became rather confused and they didn't really understand what he was saying even though Severus had simplified it for them.

In the end however it came down to the fact that this seemed to be the only way that they would ever get any peace from the wizarding world that seemed determined to monitor and report on absolutely everything that they did. Neither Harry nor Draco wanted Nathan and Natalie growing up in such an environment because it just wasn't fair on them. The opportunity that Severus was offering to them was the most amazing opportunity that they could have been offered.

Right before Severus left for the day, sometime in the late afternoon he handed Harry one other potion vial, explaining that it was to fix his eye sight so that he no longer had to wear his hideous glasses.

After Harry had thanked him once again and closed the door Severus couldn't help but think that he could have done more to help them. He would probably not see them now for at least eleven years if he ever saw them at all.

He had become overly fond not only of Nathan and Natalie but their parents as well, however odd the situation was. Severus had no family to speak of apart from those young men and their children and he would now be loosing them. He couldn't fault their reasoning though, he knew that they were making the right choices for them and their children, he only wished that he could have gone with them but it never would have worked. He preferred to just let them go, if anything went wrong then they would remember everything and they would be able to come to him if they needed help.

Severus was confident that if they needed him then they wouldn't hesitate to get in touch. He regretted that he would not be able to watch his Godchildren grow up but he knew that with this new life they would have the most amazing childhoods, packed with laughter and innocence, Harry and Draco would make sure of that.

As Severus walked down the path away from their house he felt an odd sense of regret that he couldn't quite find the source of. He couldn't shake the feeling for quite a while but he suppressed it and went through the motions like nothing was wrong and Harry and Draco hadn't just disappeared off the face of the earth.


	22. Chapter 22

A Million Reasons

Chapter Twenty Two

By the time Dumbledore went to visit Harry and Draco again the two of them were long gone. Needless to say the Headmaster was not very happy when he found out and of course he went straight to see Severus who he thought would know where it was that they had gone.

Severus however didn't have any idea where Harry and Draco had vanished to because he had wisely opted for ignorance on their location. He knew that if he had known where it was that they had vanished to the Headmaster would have done anything to find out where they were. As much as Severus wanted to know it was safer that he didn't because he planned on keeping his job at Hogwarts for a long while.

Meanwhile Harry and Draco had arrived in their new four bedroom home that was in the snobbish area in a village in Suffolk. They had a nicely sized garden for the twins to play in once they got older and they would be able to have a bedroom each as well.

The place was a dream come true for Harry, the village was what could possibly classed as normal, it had a real sense of community to it with summer fetes once a year and jumble sales in the church hall every other week.

Draco had found himself a job in the bookstore which he actually found he had a passion for. Harry seemed to be content to just look after his children, he had already made friends with the housewife next door called Alyssa who had three children of her own, two sons and her youngest a daughter.

It seemed as if they really had found the perfect place to settle down together where they could have their fairy tale ending that neither thought that they would ever be able to have. They hadn't yet drunk the potions to make themselves forget their pasts, they were still establishing their lives but they planned to do it very soon.

Everything had been arranged, Draco had a solid job, Harry was happy enough to look after Nathan and Natalie, the house was fully decorated and furnished now that they had been there a couple of days. They'd been using magic of course to finish everything off as quickly as possible. Draco was eager to use the potion before Harry changed his mind about leaving the wizarding world.

Harry and Draco had never been happier with each other than they were now, the weight of their responsibilities lifted their relationship seemed even stronger than ever before.

The news of the disappearance of Harry Potter spread like an Australian wild fire in the wizarding world and the effect was just as catastrophic. Everyone began to panic rumours of kidnap floated around, some witches and wizards even believed that the Dark Lord had somehow come back and was behind it.

The remaining Deatheater's absorbed this knowledge and pondered what it could mean and of course they came to the conclusion that Harry Potter wasn't going to stand in their way, they also took it as a sign that if the twins weren't already born then they soon would be.

Of course the wizarding world had no idea that Nathan and Natalie had been born. Harry and Draco had made sure that only a select few people knew about it. Dumbledore, Severus and Poppy wouldn't share the secret, at least not until the month was up.

The Deatheater's however were not keen on following the progress of the Potter children any longer because they had discovered that a set of twins, a boy and a girl had been born at the beginning of April and they fit the specifications perfectly.

They had been born to a wizarding family that was completely unknown, they were by no means pure bloods but they had a fair amount of magic to their name. The twins had been called William and Charlotte, they had been born on the 12th of April and were already showing evidence of power.

On the very night that Harry and Draco took the potion to make them believe that they were muggles until the day that Nathan and Natalie received their Hogwarts letters, the Deatheater's made their move, killing the parents of William and Charlotte and taking the children for themselves.

This crime, although horrific did not attract a lot of attention in the wizarding world, no one thought that it could possibly be connected to the prophecy mainly because the births had not been registered with the ministry, no one had even known that the mother had been pregnant.

Dumbledore and Severus didn't even pick up on the fact that the murder of the Moore family was connected to the Prophecy. Everyone was far too preoccupied with the fact that Harry Potter had disappeared to notice anything else.

ELEVEN YEARS LATER!

Harry Potter was making pancakes for his two children who were eleven today and his life partner when an owl swooped into the kitchen dropping two letters on to the breakfast table. He had never before seen such a strange sight.

At least he couldn't remember anything like it however much it seemed like déjà vu. He abandoned the pancakes and went to examine the two envelopes as the owl swooped away again. One was addressed to Nathan and the other to Natalie. It was the strangest thing, the emerald green ink in which their names and addresses were written seemed oddly familiar to him even though he was sure that he had never seen anything of the sort before.

Harry moved into the hall way, the letters still in his hand and called up the stairs "Nathan, Natalie, would you come downstairs for a moment please."

Immediately two eleven year old children were heard making their way down the stairs where they greeted their father in the kitchen/breakfast room. Nathan, who was almost as tall as Harry already with a mop of messy black hair and brilliant emerald eyes and Emerald who was also with dark black hair that fell way past her shoulders and silver eyes were then handed their letters.

Both eleven year olds looked at them in confusion, they had already had their presents when they had woken up so this confused them.

"What is it dad?" Nathan asked as he and his sister opened them curiously.

"I don't know" Harry said as he went back to the pancakes as Draco walked in. He approached his partner and kissed him full on the lips as was their greeting to each other every morning.

"What have you got there?" Draco asked casting a glance at what the twins were now reading wide eyed in shock.

"Dad you had better read this." Natalie said handing the letter to Draco who took it, eager to find out what it was that the twins were so shocked about.

In emerald green ink was written:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Student,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September.

"Harry" Draco said, "Perhaps you should read this."

Harry once again abandoned his pancakes and went to see what all the fuss was about, he almost dropped the spatula he was holding when he read what the letter said. It took only a moment after both Harry and Draco had read the letters for them both to find themselves feeling a little woozy.

Harry, who had been standing up at the time fainted, Draco who stood up to help Harry immediately fainted also but not because of the shock of reading the letters. By reading the letters from Hogwarts they had triggered the return of their memories.

Such a thing would cause anyone to black out for a moment because otherwise it would have given them too much of a headache with such a rush of information going to their brains. It was after all a very big secret that they had hidden from themselves eleven years ago.

Nathan and Natalie, upon seeing both their parents black out had not known what to do about it. It was lucky that the return of their memories took only five minutes and that after that length of time they were beginning to come around again.

Draco sat up first, his head pounding and Nathan hovering over him asking him if he was alright. Before he could say anything however Harry too sat up, his head throbbing just as much. All the information that Severus' potion had helped them to forget so that they could live happy and normal lives had come rushing back and they remembered everything, right down to the place that they had hidden their wands for this very moment.

"Draco … you remember everything?" Harry asked, still a little stunned from everything that had happened.

"Yes, I think so." Draco replied, he too was dazed from the experience of receiving so many memories all at once.

"What happened?" Natalie asked as she helped Nathan aid Harry and Draco in getting up off the floor and into a chair at the breakfast table.

"Nathan, Natalie, I think you ought to sit down, we have something that I suppose we have to tell you and it involves those letters that you just received." Harry said trying desperately to get a grip on the situation.

Draco nodded his agreement to this and Nathan and Natalie sat down obediently, they too were confused about what had happened and they were eager to know. So they did as they were told without fuss.

"The letters that you just received are inviting you to attend Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry." Harry begun "You have received them because Nathan you are a wizard and Natalie you are a witch. Both Draco and I are also wizards."

"Then why didn't you tell us before dad?" Nathan asked.

"Because we didn't know ourselves," Draco said.

"How could you not know?" Natalie asked.

"A potion" Harry said simply.

"A potion?" Nathan and Natalie said in unison.

"Yes. We wanted the two of you to grow up with normal and happy childhoods. You could never have had that if we hadn't taken you away from the wizarding world. There is a lot that you don't know about me and I think that we're going to have to tell you because otherwise you'll just find out from other people and I don't want that."

So Harry set about explaining to his children about his past, leaving out more than most of the details but giving them the brief over view that they needed to get the picture. Of course knowing that they were just as infamous as their father was didn't help them process it any quicker.

"So, we're famous because you're famous because you defeated this so called Dark Lord." Nathan said summing up a good two hours of conversation.

"Yes" Harry agreed, "Our history books are full of it. If we hadn't left then you would have grown up in the lime light with everyone watching your every move and we didn't want that for you. Now however we face the problem of you going to Hogwarts."

"Do you think that we should contact the headmaster or at least Severus?" Draco asked.

"Probably, I don't want to just send them off come September without knowing that they're going to be looked after. What with the …"

"Harry do you really think we should be talking about that in front of them?" Draco said cutting Harry off mid-sentence before he could mention the prophecy.

"Perhaps not, I think we need to sort everything out, we've been gone for so long now, it'll be difficult going back but it has to be done." Harry said.

"We knew that this day would come when we took t he potion, we decided that eleven happy and carefree years were worth it." Draco said and Harry nodded his agreement.

However much they wanted to keep living their happy carefree existence they couldn't put off going back any longer, not now that the twins were eleven. Hogwarts supplies had to be bought and Harry and Draco had a lot of work a head of them.

They hadn't been keeping up to date with events in the wizarding world so they had no idea what they would be going back to. What scared them the most was not knowing, it had been so long, they hadn't been found in the eleven years they had been gone, they had had absolutely nothing to do with the wizarding world.

Going back was going to be an awfully big step for them, the twins would be setting foot into a world that would worship them but also destroy them if they weren't careful. Harry knew that his children were strong enough but he wasn't sure if he was ready to take them back and reveal them to the world that expected so much from him and therefore would expect his children to be just as great.


	23. Chapter 23

A Million Reasons

Chapter twenty three

The first move Harry and Draco made was to owl Severus who was so relieved to hear from them that he rushed right over to see them without first thinking about the consequences.

Harry and Draco were so relieved to see him that they didn't think about it either. Nathan and Natalie stood watching bemused as their parents embraced this older man who was really getting on in years.

Severus, after greeting Harry and Draco, turned to take in the twins, he was so overcome with emotion at the sight of them that he couldn't help but cry, these two children were his godchildren and he couldn't have asked for more perfect children.

"They are a credit to you both." Severus said to Harry and Draco who nodded in agreement. They knew all too well how lucky they were to be in the position they were in with Nathan and Natalie. "However I have news for you both that maybe they should not hear."

"Nathan, Natalie, please go to your rooms." Harry said and at once their was uproar from the twins who wanted to hear what this strange man had to say. Since learning of their true heritage they had been fascinated by it and their thirst for knowledge was unquenchable.

"Do as you're told!" Draco said to them sternly.

"But that isn't fair" Nathan said.

"You can't keep it from us forever" Natalie added.

"Just please do as you're told, we need to talk privately to Severus for a while, anything that we think that you should know we will tell you later. For the moment however there are things that we don't know." Harry tried to explain.

Nathan and Natalie, admitting defeat stormed off to their respective bedrooms and slammed the doors shut behind them to show their irritation that things were being hidden from them.

"I cannot believe that they are the two babies that I saw with you, it does not feel that long since I last saw you." Severus said.

"Yes, it is hard to believe, though we're going to have to get a firm grip on reality soon enough. What's been happening since we've been gone?" Harry asked.

"A lot has changed. To begin with Dumbledore died, I think three years ago, of old age. Something that I am sure you will be glad about. Minerva is the headmistress of Hogwarts now and I am the deputy."

"What about the Prophecy?" Draco asked.

"There has not been much said about it. However I knew that the time was coming when Nathan and Natalie would be returning to the wizarding world and I started to do a bit of research. Also registered to be coming to Hogwarts are William and Charlotte. They were born on the 12th of April and by all means they fit the Prophecy. What's more their surname is registered as Lestrange."

"As in Bellatrix?" Harry queried and Severus nodded. "Merlin help us!"

"So the deatheater's found their prophecy children after all. What has to be done?" Draco asked knowing that they couldn't just stand by and let it happen.

"Nothing for the moment, as it stands we are just assuming, until we know for certain nothing can be done I'm afraid. However you need to think about coming back into the wizarding world, there was a state of absolute panic when you left and there has been a section of the Ministry dedicated to finding you, you must have put a very powerful spell on this house for it to be hidden so effectively."

"We were going to talk to you about that, we weren't sure the best way to go about doing that, we want to keep the twins as safe as possible of course. Is our house still in a liveable condition?"

"I should think so." Severus said, "I have had a house elf there the entire eleven years to keep it in a decent state."

"Good because I think we'll be moving back there, I want to keep this place as a safe haven. If we really are going to go back then I want somewhere that I feel safe. I can't believe that we left so that the Prophecy wouldn't come true and now it seems like it has anyway." 

"Avoiding the Prophecy wasn't the only reason that we left Har though it was one of the main reasons though right now it looks like we're going to be going back just to fight in yet another war." Draco said and he really didn't sound very happy about it.

"We don't know that there will be another war yet Draco." Severus said trying to keep things calm. "All we know is that there is a set of twins that fit the Prophecy that have been registered to attend Hogwarts under the name of Lestrange. I'm working on finding out the history behind them so that we can be sure."

"Have you had any luck with that?" Harry asked.

"Not so far, I haven't even managed to track down any birth records for them, it is extremely odd that there would be no record of their birth. It makes me wonder whether the ministry was ever aware of their birth at all, which means that the disappearance of two babies could have gone unnoticed."

"But the murder of two adults surely wouldn't have done." Harry said, "Assuming of course that they murdered them."

"There is that, I have known Lucius and Bellatrix for a long while and I know neither of them can perform a memory charm to save their lives so I would have to say that they would probably have chosen murder, something that I will have to look into." Severus said.

"How will you go about it?" Harry queried.

"It should not be too difficult to achieve. The ministry has an open archive of all the previous copies of the Daily Prophet. If there is anything that fits what we're looking for we'll pick it up." 

"Harry, please don't tell me you're thinking about getting involved in this ordeal?" Draco asked as Harry opened his mouth to ask yet another question, as Draco spoke however he didn't dare go on.

"You're right Dray, I won't get involved, at least not yet, not until we know something more." Harry said however he sounded as if he was a little resilient to this idea.

Draco let the matter drop at that moment but he was unhappy with the answer that he had managed to get from Harry. They had been together for eleven years and it seemed that the arguments between them had only stopped when they had no memory of their past and where they had come from.

This thought troubled him more than he would have liked. The fact that only hours after the potion had worn off they were fighting again. Draco couldn't understand why Harry felt as if he had to get involved and probably fight as well if it came down to it. He may have been destined to be the hero of the wizarding world once and forced into it the first time but to volunteer for it the second time was in Draco's eyes just plain stupid.

He realised that Dumbledore had done a wonderful job raising Harry to do his dirty work but now Harry was twenty eight years old and Dumbledore was dead. However it seemed that the old mans influence extended beyond the grave, Draco would never have thought that possible and yet here they were.

The three of them made a plan of how Harry, Draco, Nathan and Natalie would be reintroduced to the wizarding world. It would first involve them going shopping in Diagon Alley to begin with, Severus would ensure that the reporters from the Daily Prophet were tipped off to this appearance and he would be accompanying them for their safety.

Severus could predict that there would be excitement and up roar at the return of Harry Potter and with two eleven year old children in tow. He wasn't quite sure how the wizarding world would react to this and he wasn't going to be taking any chances.

Once Severus had finished catching them up on everything that had happened in the wizarding world while they were living the dream life Harry and Draco called their children downstairs so that they could tell them a few selected bits of information that they had learnt from Severus. Also they wanted Nathan and Natalie to get used to the idea that Severus was going to be around a lot more, especially since he was their Godfather and all.

Both Nathan and Natalie seemed excited about the prospect of exploring the wizarding world and didn't listen to the warnings that Severus, Harry and Draco all told them about how dangerous it could be, especially for them. The problem was they had believed that they were nothing special for so long and now that they knew that they were just regular people and that they had magical powers their heads were spinning with possibilities.

They wanted to get out there and try it out, they wanted to buy their wands and start practicing, they had a thirst for knowledge that wouldn't wait till September to be satisfied. They had a desire to learn all about the world where they had originated from and had been hidden from for all these years. They wanted to know about their heritage and what had made their dad famous in the first place.

That night once Severus had gone and everyone had gone to bed Natalie crept into Nathan's bedroom so that they could talk. It was often that one of them would do this once their parents had gone to bed.

The twins were very close for siblings, they hadn't found making friends very easy growing up and had pretty much stuck together and got each other through Primary school. They didn't have long left at the school they attended currently, come September they would be going off to Hogwarts however for the twins that just wasn't soon enough.

"I can't wait until we go to Diagon Ally" Natalie said, "It sounds amazing." The twins had settled on Natalie's bed, they kept their voices low so that they wouldn't be heard and told to go back to bed.

"It really does sound as if it'll be fun," Nathan said. "How powerful do you think we are?"

"From what Dad has said I wouldn't know where to begin." Natalie said with a smile on her face at the thought of having so much power at her fingertips.

"Do you think that our Dad's will ever let us go enough for us to achieve our potential?" There was something else swirling in Nathan's mind and it wasn't something that would do either of them any good.

"I doubt it, he's already hiding so much from us. I want to know more about this Voldemort guy." Natalie said, "The one the Dad killed."

"So what are we going to do? Dad won't let us know all this stuff."

"We could wait until we go to Hogwarts, then he wouldn't be able to stop us."

"But that's five months away." Nathan said.

"Do you really think that Dad is going to let us out of his sight when we go to Diagon Alley? There isn't any chance that we'll be able to slip away and besides where will we go?" Natalie asked.

"I don't know but we're never going to learn anything by hanging around with our Dad's, they won't let us."

"But until we go to Hogwarts we won't be away from them. We're going to have to wait." Natalie said trying to talk some sense into her brother who was by far the more impulsive one.

"I don't want to have to wait Nat, we have so much power and we have no idea how to control it or to use it and I want to know how, we deserve to know."

"There was a reason daddy didn't want us to know Nate, we do have amazing power and we will no doubt learn to control that power but we are only eleven." She said.

Nathan pondered this for a moment and nodded to show that he at least agreed with that. He so wanted to learn all about the power that he had. The fact that he had never had the opportunity to learn before now really bothered the young boy.

Natalie on the other hand even though she thought it a great shame that it had been hidden from them knew that it had been for good reason and would embrace the knowledge when she was given it, she was a lot less power hungry than her brother and although she craved the knowledge just as much as he did she was a lot more patient.

What Harry and Draco didn't realise was that when it came to their children they hadn't done the right thing by running away from the wizarding world and removing their memories because by doing so they had unleashed a few of the less desirable personality traits that could have been avoided had he known about his own heritage.

However what had been done had been done and now whatever was to come would come no matter what. The choices that had been made had made a ripple effect through their lives as all choices did.


End file.
